The White Wings
by Freedom Kira
Summary: Encompasses the life of the new Guardian of Riviera, Ein, and his trials, abilities, and friends. How will he fare? What about his friends? How will everyone grow? ExF, LxR, SxL, CxS, other random pairings...?
1. Reunion

The Riviera section on Fanfiction is pretty small, so I'm here to make it better! So here it is, folks, my very first fanfiction. Uhm, I admit that the first and second chapters are pretty boring, but I promise it'll get better. I've done three pairings in this fic: Ein x Fia, Serene x Lina, and Rose x Ledah. Anyway, on to the story, and of course, I don't own Riviera: The Promised Land or any of its characters. This disclaimer applies to all chapters.

One more thing, I will be updating this story every Thursday and Sunday night, meaning you can view new chapters every Friday and Monday. I promise to meet my quotas, unlike many people on the website. Now, onward!

--

"Eiinnn!"

Ein looked up from the table in Fia's house he was sitting at, sharpening his Einherjar, startled by the random cheery voice in the early afternoon. The house was empty, so the voice must have come from outside.

"Who's there?" He knew Fia had a key, and besides, it didn't sound like her, or Lina, either. He went to the door and opened it, but no one was there.

"Prankster…" Ein muttered. _How about... yeah, let's do that. _"This is the will of the Go-" he began.

"Boo!"

"-ds! Disa… oh, Serene!"

"Yeah, don't go using that on me," Serene winked, brushing the dirt off her clothes from crouching down. "Do you really wanna kill me?"

"Er, no… I just didn't know who it was, and… yeah." Ein shifted his weight, a bit shocked at who he almost attacked. "So um, what are you here for?"

"Oh, just visiting," Serene replied. "It's been so long since we were together... is Lina home?"

"It's only been a week or so since you last left, and no, Lina's out playing with Molan and Gill again."

It had been a couple of years since Hector's defeat. Serene went out to wander every so often, and just came back from her most recent trip. She carved her own home out of a tree, not wanting to live in Fia and Lina's house. Cierra was often at the Magic Guild, so most people stayed away from there most of the time. Cierra had decided to live in Fia's house, which was getting crowded since Rose and Ein had moved in there too. Though she bought a magic typewriter, Rose rarely used it for her writing work, saying it was too much hassle. Everyone had matured since the journey. Fia was a little more outgoing, Serene became slightly more reserved, and Lina became somewhat less annoying, although she still had a childlike attitude.

"I see," Serene said. "What's up lately?"

"Not too much with me," Ein answered. He turned around a little and added, "Wanna come in? You haven't been here in a while."

"Mm sure." Serene walked in, looking around at the organized furniture and other things. "Wow, sure has changed… Fia's learned to organize?"

"Yeah, kind of." Ein put water on the stove to boil, and reached into a cupboard to pull out a bag of tea leaves and a small tea set. "How was your little trip?" He asked, rinsing out two teacups and the teapot.

"Oh, kinda boring," Serene said. "Since all the demons disappeared, there's been no fun for someone like me."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Ein said, sitting down with her while waiting for the water to boil. "I sort of feel like that too, but I think I've learned to live a normal life here."

"Normal?" Serene picked up a picture with Ein, Fia, and Lina on a cliff overlooking the sea, the sunset in the background, lighting up the sky with a soft pink glow, and looked at it. "Since when is a Grim Angel living like this normal?"

"That's a good point, actually," Ein remarked. He got up to pour the boiled water into the teapot, mind somewhat elsewhere. "It's actually pretty fun living here in Elendia. It's peaceful."

"Yeah?" Serene said. "I'm probably gonna give up traveling for a bit, just to stay here for a while." She put the picture back down. "Where'd you take this? And how?"

"Take what?" Ein brought the tea on a plate and set it down on the table they were sitting at. "Oh, that? We took that down at the bluff near Lacrima Castle. What a nice picture, huh?"

"Mm hmm, that it is," Serene stared at the picture, seeming to be lost in it. "It's beautiful…"

"It's one of my favorites," Ein told her, sipping his tea. "Cierra's magic is truly amazing, if she can make a picture like that. She made the paper out of a tree and implanted the image on."

"Huh? Cierra?" Serene looked up suddenly.

"Yup, that's right," Ein said. "What did you think we did, paint it?"

"Yeah, yeah," Serene murmured. "Good tea."

"Fia grew these," Ein informed her. "Her little garden out back is just amazing."

"I have to see it sometime," Serene grinned. "Anything good to eat there?"

"Of course. Banangos and applecots alike."

"Ooh awesome."

Coco flew by, carrying some things she picked from the garden.

"Oh, Master Ein, good afternoon," she bowed in midair as she passed. "Pretty fast with the ladies, I see."

"Um, what?" Ein challenged.

"Oh, nothing," Coco winked. "I'm gonna start cooking dinner. See you later."

"Uh huh, sure," Ein waved her off.

"Well, Ein, I'm gonna go visit everyone else," Serene said, ignoring the incident, and left before Ein could protest. "See you around," she called behind her.

_Gee, what's with her,_ Ein wondered. _She's acting differently… and she left without a thank-you for that tea._

Ein picked up Einherjar, spun it a couple times above his head and sheathed it behind his back in one swift motion. _Better watch out for her,_ he thought.

He walked out the back to visit the garden before heading out. The plants were spread out orderly, and all of them were watered in the morning. He gave the plants another small spray of water, and then left for the Undine Spring.

Nono was there to greet and warn him. "Ein!" she called. "Um, don't go any farther. Fia's bathing with Lina, Rose, and Cierra."

"Oh really?" Ein said. "I guess I'll come back later."

"Well, unless you're really quiet," Nono winked at him. "Do you want to peek?"

"Um, no I don't," Ein's face turned a bright red. "I'm not a peeping tom."

"Liar! Liar!" Nono teased him. "You so are! See, your face is all red!"

Behind Nono, Ein could see Fia and Lina exit the water with towels on. Stunned, he couldn't move a muscle, staring.

Nono turned around, saw them come out, then turned back and teased him some more. "See, I knew you were a peeper, Ein!" Nono flew off towards the spring, and Serene sneaked up behind Ein.

"EIN, STOP PEEKING!" she yelled in his ear. Ein, scared half to death, jumped ten feet into the air.

"Are you crazy?" Ein said, bewildered. "They're gonna hear you!"

It was too late. Lina and Fia, still in towels, heard the commotion and came out.

"Ein's a perv!" Lina exclaimed. "Perv! Perv!"

"That's not news anymore, Lina…" Serene informed her.

"Argh…"

"Ah, Serene!" Fia managed. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yup. Didn't expect to find Ein peeking again, though," she winked at him again, and he shrunk away. "Care if I join you?"

"Well, we just finished, but I wouldn't mind another bath," Fia replied. "Cierra's there too. She's just a bit slow coming out."

"Wow, family reunion," Serene remarked. "Hey, Ein, wanna join us?"

"Uh, what did Serene just say?" Lina raised an eyebrow.

"Serene? You okay? You were just attacking him about being a peeping tom," Fia added.

_What's with Serene today?_ Ein wondered. "Um, I'll pass…"

"Gosh, Ein, your first ever chance to bathe with just girls around you, and you pass?" Serene shook her head. "Oh well, let's go, everyone. I was only kidding anyway."

"You two go on ahead," Fia told them. "I'll be right there."

"Alright! Splashy again!" Lina jumped and skipped her way back to the spring, Serene following gliding through the air.

"Hey, how was your day?" Fia asked. She'd left him alone at home when she went out that morning without saying a word.

"Not bad," Ein replied. "Mining is so boring." Ein often helped Ritz down at the mine. "But then again, you never know if you'll find something if you don't try."

"That's right," Fia said. "I'm glad you fit in so well here. Are you sore anywhere?"

"Just a little bit in the shoulders… Hey, what are you doing?"

Fia sat him down on a smooth rock and began to massage his shoulders from behind. Being so close to him made her heart beat faster, and her breathing became short and shallow.

"What do you think?" Fia managed. Her hands weren't very strong, but she kept at it.

"You've never done this before," Ein remarked. "It feels great."

"Really?" Fia felt her heart beat even faster. "Ah, Claude taught me how to do this. He said I should try it on you."

"What a guy," Ein remarked. The massage felt good on his shoulders, and he relaxed. "It would be great if you could do this every day, but your hands would hurt after a while."

"I'll do it as much as I can," Fia reassured him. "Say, want to go somewhere after tonight's dinner?"

"Somewhere? Like where?"

"Someplace nice," Fia told him. "Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough."

Fia got up, and Ein, who was beginning to really relax, almost fell over backwards. "See you at home later," she said, moving back to the spring, leaving him to wonder what was going to happen tonight.

--

A/N: Just a little suspense here. I used this chapter mostly for foreshadowing, but most are pretty subtle and/or vague… I know the personalities don't match, but I already said that everyone's changed since the journey, which was about two years ago. I also said this chapter was gonna be pretty boring… Please R&R! Anyway, I have this story written a few chapters in advance, so here's a chapter preview for chapter 2.

Chapter 2: An Unexpected Guest (release on July 13, 2006)

As Serene goes out for a walk, the dinner gets cold! Ein and Fia decide to search together, but run into a couple of… "people" who attack them! A battle ensues. How do they fare? Who are these mysterious "people?"


	2. An Unexpected Guest?

Well, everyone, here it is, chapter 2 of my first fiction. I don't know how many people are reading this, but I like to have some feedback.

This chapter has the first small fight scene, but I'll admit it's pretty short and not as good as some other ones out there… Also, Ledah returns, and I tried to make it a bit more original than "Oh, Ursula brought me back with her power" like many people did. It might not be very original, but it's a welcome change if I do say so myself.

I'll admit that Cierra's role in this fic is pretty limited so far; she doesn't talk much, does she? Her role will become slightly bigger in the next few chapters, but not much more, though it might grow by the end.

Disclaimer: see chapter 1

I've rambled enough. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and will review this fiction, and enjoy chapter 2!

--

Everyone had piled into Lina and Fia's house for dinner that night, as a kind of reunion. Cierra and Fia helped Coco cook extra food for everyone. Luckily, Cierra didn't feel like using her magic to "help," so the house stayed intact and no water was needed except to cook.

Ein lounged on the wooden couch in the living room. Serene was taking a walk outside, saying she would be back, and Lina was jumping on her bed, her usual pastime.

"Dinner time!"

Cierra's voice drifted from the kitchen and everyone but Serene rushed to the dining room. Tonight's dinner was extensive, and consisted of 5 dishes of Riviera's best food. Deciding to wait, they sat and watched the food steam.

"Wonder where she is?" Ein remarked. "She could be anywhere. Elendia is pretty big."

"Yeah," Fia agreed.

"I hope she's safe," Cierra said, looking out the window. Outside the sky was clear, and the stars twinkled softly. The moon had not yet risen.

"Gee, Lina's getting hungry," Lina complained, staring at the food. She caught herself before she drooled.

"I think I better go look for her," Ein said, grabbing Einherjar. He spun it a couple times in the air above his head and sheathed it behind his back in a swift motion. He got his jacket, put on his shoes, and went to the door.

"Wow, Ein's fast," Cierra commented, "compared to the clumsy me, anyway."

"Oh, Cierra, don't say that. Hey, Ein, I'm coming with you," Fia told him. She grabbed her Rosier, flicked it around her fingers, and sheathed it on her waist. Her green dress flew gracefully behind her as she moved towards the door.

"Lina's coming too!" Lina piped up. She made a move for her bow, when Ein told her not to.

"Lina, it's okay. We'll be fine, I promise," Ein reassured her. "We'll be back very soon."

Reluctantly, Lina put down her bow. "Lina never gets to do anything fun." She returned to the dining table to stare at the food again.

"Cierra, take care of her while we're out," Fia instructed. "Lina, don't cause trouble, ok?"

"Uh huh," Lina said half-heartedly.

"We'll be fine. Good luck, you two," Cierra said with a smile.

"Ok, we're off." Ein and Fia went out the door.

"He's growing up fast, isn't he," Cierra murmured to herself after they left. "I won't be surprised if one day one of us falls in love with him…"

"When did you learn to do that trick with your rapier?" Ein asked out of curiosity once they were out of the house.

"Oh, I just practice," Fia replied, smiling as usual. "You got your own trick too."

"Haha, practice does make perfect. Same goes for me."

They walked along the dirt path, but didn't find Serene. Her tracks weren't visible either, which was to be expected from someone who flies.

"Where do you think she went?" Ein asked. "It's dark out. That makes it hard to see. I can't hear her either…"

"You think we should split up?" Fia suggested. "We could cover more distance that way."

"Not yet," Ein warned. "There might be something out there. Splitting up is the best way to kill your firepower."

"I guess you're right," Fia agreed. "So where to first? Undine Spring? Crystal Caverns?"

"Um, let's try the spring first."

Fia's dress billowed along behind her, and so did Ein's cape, as they speed-walked their way to Undine Spring. Nono and Meute were there to greet them.

"Good evening," Meute said. Her speaking was getting better and better. "Is something wrong?"

"Strange to see you out this late," Nono remarked. "You must be looking for something." She teasingly rubbed up against Ein's cheek.

"Yeah, we're looking for Serene," Ein told them, pulling Nono off and sitting her down on his hand. "Did you two see her around here?"

"I didn't see her," Nono said. Smiling, she lay down on her back and looked up at Ein. "Gee, what a romantic night it is tonight."

"Yeah, but let's not get distracted," Fia said, turning to Meute. "How about you, Meute, did you see her?"

"No… I haven't… since this afternoon..."

"Well, we'll try somewhere else then," Ein said. "Come on, Fia."

"Hey, take me with you," Nono said. "I'll help look for her."

Ein and Fia agreed, and Nono sat up on Ein's shoulder as they moved towards the Grove of Repose. The moon was beginning to peek out of the distant mountains as they reached the heavily wooded area.

"I think this would be the most likely place for her to be in," Ein commented. "She used to spend most of her time here."

The three of them moved together as to not get separated, and reached deep into the grove.

"Do you hear that?" Nono whispered. "Sounds like rustling in the leaves or something."

They stopped moving and listened. Sure enough, rustling could be heard from a bush on the side. The three moved up to it silently. Suddenly, a dark figure rose from the bush, with a huge scythe above its head, at the ready to strike.

"Who the hell!" Ein yelled as he pulled Einherjar out.

"Is… that… Death?" Fia trembled, but she didn't let her fear show while she pulled out Rosier.

"I don't think it is… we killed Death a long time ago," Ein reminded her. "But then again…"

Nono jumped into Ein's shirt. "It's way too scary out there. Hee hee, it's so warm in here!" She giggled. "Wow, Ein, it's so nice and cozy. Mm mm…"

Suddenly, a second figure appeared, carrying a spear-like weapon in its arm and spreading huge wings behind it.

"What the hell?" Ein exclaimed. "How many are there?"

As he said that, a third figure arose. This one carried nothing, but had a head shaped strangely like a cat.

"Who are you?" the first figure asked, in a deep, husky voice that Ein didn't recognize.

"That's what I should be asking you!" Ein shot back.

Fia stepped up beside Ein. "We're outnumbered, though that one that just stood up looks harmless…" she whispered. "I think we can do this."

"Well, let's go then. I'll get the quiet guy with the weird spear thingy, and you get the scythe?"

"Yeah."

Ein lunged out with Einherjar, striking downwards. His attack was parried easily, and he was thrown backwards through the air.

"Ein? You okay?" Fia asked. She resisted the urge to rush to his side and focused on the scythe.

The scythe swung down at her, and she dodged out of the way. Rosier at the ready, she struck at the arm holding the scythe and struck. The shadow yelped in pain, and Fia suddenly recognized the voice.

"Serene!"

Ein looked up from where he was thrown on the ground. _Serene?_ He had heard the figure's voice, but it didn't sound like Serene at all.

"If that's Serene, then who is this?" Ein asked, striking out again at the spear-wielding figure. As the figure spun, Ein caught a glimpse of the shadow of a chain hanging off its neck. There was a cross hanging on the chain. Suddenly, it hit him.

"Ledah!" Ein yelled. "Ledah? Is that you?"

The figure continued to attack Ein, who flipped up over it and kicked it on its back. The figure fell over and the spear skittered a small distance away. Its wings slowed its fall, and it landed softly.

"Okay, Ein, that's enough," the third figure spoke up.

"Wha…? Rose?" Ein gasped, bewildered. "What the heck are you doing there?"

"Ah, Ein, long time no see," the second figure stood up.

"So it IS Ledah!" Ein exclaimed. "But… why'd you three do that for?"

"I thought we'd play with your head a bit," Rose told him.

"Yeah, I disguised my voice so you wouldn't recognize me right away," Serene added. "That was over pretty fast."

"Yeah, in my world, it's one strike and you're out," Ein teased.

"Uh huh," Rose said, sounding uninterested. "Braggart."

"You've gotten stronger, Ein," Ledah complimented, picking up the spear, which Ein knew was Lorelei.

"Wait a minute… how the hell…?" Ein stammered.

"Everyone asks that," Ledah remarked. "Ursula used the last of her power to bring Fia back to life, so she had to use the last of Seth's power and life force to bring me back, but that took longer than Fia, so I came out after you did."

"Wow," Ein said. "Serene, you…"

"Yeah," Serene affirmed. "I met him while out traveling a little while back. He was just wandering the skies, searching for something. I was planning to find him and bring him to Fia's house tonight as a surprise, but I guess you got kinda impatient."

"Searching… for what?" Fia asked.

"For you, Ein," Ledah replied. "You're the only one on Riviera I can come to, being a Grim Angel and all."

"I see," Ein said. "Did you get your emotions back?"

"Well, no," Ledah answered. "I don't know if I can."

"Ledah, there is no such thing as an emotionless angel, or any living thing," Fia advised him. "Emotions flow from the heart. To have no emotions means you're heartless, and if you're heartless you're not living. That's why I don't believe your emotions are not there, but rather just hidden deep down. When you're with Ein, I can tell. It's coming back, bit by bit, when you're with him. Once you find them all, you'll be just as strong as he is."

"Fia…" Ein trailed off in thought.

"Ein's strength is his emotions," Rose added. "His emotions let him be pure, and that's what makes him strong. An emotionless being may be a perfect fighter, but he can never match up to a pure being, who is just as perfect a fighter, but also knows what he's fighting for, and that's what makes him stronger than the emotionless fighter. The emotionless fighter simply fights as he is ordered to and never questions it, since he isn't able to."

"Is that so…" Ledah murmured.

"See, Ledah?" Serene jumped in. "It was never truly the will of the Gods. It was only his will you were fighting for, but you never really knew that, right?"

"I always thought it was the will of the Gods, because that's what I was told," Ledah said. "I think I see now. What was the true will of the Gods, then?"

"I'm sure the will of the Gods was to defy Hector," Ein assured him. "Hector was a self-centered Magi who didn't follow the will of the true Gods. I'm glad he was defeated in the end."

"We all are," Serene added. "Come on, the food's getting cold."

"Oh, right," Fia said. "Ledah, want to eat with us?"

"Yeah, okay."

"Hey, Ein, is it okay to come out yet?" Nono called from inside Ein's shirt.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, of course," Ein replied.

"Ah, fresh air at last," Nono breathed as she came out. "Huh? Master Ledah! And Rose and Serene!"

"Hey, Nono," Rose greeted. "I trust you're doing your job of guarding the bath area well?"

"Yes, yes, of course," Nono winked. "It would be so much easier if Ein didn't try something all the time."

"Wh-what the hell?" Ein stammered.

"Oh, Ein, it's okay," Serene teased. "It's okay to be a guy interested in naked female bodies after all."

"No!" Ein shouted. "Dammit, no one ever trusts me."

"Can't take a joke, Ein?" Serene laughed. Fia giggled from the side.

"Ah, whatever," Ein shook his head. "Let's go."

"Fia's growing up, isn't she," Rose whispered to Ledah. "She's much more mature and courageous since you last saw her, don't you think?"

"I don't know," Ledah replied quietly. "She does seem different though. Did you expect her to make that speech?"

"Not really."

"Come on, you two," Nono shouted from Ein's shoulder. "We're gonna leave you behind!"

With that, Nono turned and leaned back to look up at the sky. "It's so clear tonight. Hey, it's a full moon!"

Rose turned her head. The moon's soft bluish white glow was beginning to appear at the horizon. It really was a full moon tonight. Its glow spread a soft light across the night sky. The stars twinkled and danced lightly like white fireflies all over the sky.

"Isn't it romantic out tonight," Rose commented softly to Ledah. "Let's go somewhere after dinner."

"Huh? With me?" Ledah was taken aback. "Where?"

"Oh, I don't know… someplace… nice…" Rose started to stagger, somewhat drowsy.

Ledah caught Rose in his arms. "What the heck? Are you tired?" He got no reply.

"Oh well, I guess I have to carry you back then." He scooped Rose up in his arms, putting her arm around his neck. _She's so peaceful when she's sleeping,_ Ledah thought. Walking became tiring, so he took flight, gliding slowly as to not wake her. He soon caught up to the rest of the group.

"Oh, Ledah!" Ein greeted. "Gee, Rose seems tired."

"Yeah, she does," Ledah agreed.

The girls just kept walking, hiding their grins from the still airborne Ledah and the innocent Ein.

Nono was getting drowsy too, so Ein carried her in his arms. She was light so it was effortless for Ein. Once they reached Undine Spring, Ein handed the still sleeping Nono over to Meute, and then the group headed to Fia and Lina's house.

--

A/N: Okay, I admit that it's a bit strange that Ein wasn't surprised about Ledah at first and asked about his revival after asking what was going on, but oh well. It'll all be fine.

I think this chapter was a bit more talky than it should be, huh? I'll see if I can cut down on that in future chaps.

Heh, Ein's really innocent, isn't he… he notices not a thing, but I guess that's all part of his charm. Some things never change…

Fia's much wiser, isn't she? More courageous too… Rose is the same… as I've said before, everyone's changed over time. Here's the next chapter preview:

Chapter 3: The Night Sky part 1 (release on July 16, 2006)

The moon is full and the stars twinkle brightly. After dinner during which everyone chats about Ledah's life from Yggdrasil to that point, Serene and Lina take a walk, and they get caught in the romantic atmosphere. What will happen? Yuri chapter, you've been warned! XD.


	3. The Night Sky part 1

Riviera comes with some pretty awesome music, wouldn't you agree? It rocks even Advance Wars music (Sturm's theme! Rock on! Haha).

Anyway, welcome to chapter 3 of The White Wings. I warned in the chapter preview that this chapter would contain yuri, so I won't repeat that again. Uh, so I just did… shush!

Sometimes I wonder what everyone's favorite food is… What the heck does Serene like to eat? Everyone knows Lina loves applecots, but that's about it… isn't it? Besides that Fia can't eat meat? (Or maybe it's just Cierra's cooking she can't eat XD)

Meh… well, everyone, sit back and enjoy chapter 3! (Well, you don't have to sit back, you can lean in if you can't see well XP) Refer to chapter 1 for the disclaimer.

--

Cierra and Lina greeted the group at the door. Ledah quickly brought Rose to the couch and laid her down. He took off his crimson cloak and put it over her before returning to the dining room.

"Where did Serene go?" Lina asked.

"Just out for a walk, like I said," Serene protested. "I just brought Ledah here."

"Ledah?" Lina turned to see Ledah enter the dining room. "Whoa, it's Ledah! Lina wants to know how Ledah came back to life! Did it hurt? Was there a light? Where were you?"

"Lina, calm down," Cierra called, lifting the food out of the oven. She had put the food back in the oven to reheat it. "Although I AM a bit curious too…"

"Why don't we start eating first," Serene interrupted. "I'm starving."

"Lina too!" Lina chimed in.

Everyone except Rose sat down around the dining room table. Once the serving was complete, Ledah began to tell his story again.

"Seth's life force?" Cierra wondered after Ledah finished. "Doesn't that make you Seth?"

"I guess that kinda makes sense," Serene said, reaching into the fruits basket for a banango. "If you make a chair out of a tree, it becomes a wooden chair, right?"

"Good analogy," Ledah commented. "Well, it would make sense, but it's just Seth's life force that Ursula attached my soul to, so I suppose there shouldn't be even a trace of Seth in me."

Ein picked up his plate and went to the kitchen. Only Fia noticed him leave.

"That's interesting," Serene remarked, nibbling the banango.

"When you died, Ledah, did you see a light or something like that?" Lina asked. She reached into the basket for an applecot and bit off half in one bite. "What happened to you after you died?"

"Many people say that," Cierra added. "When you die, there's this white light that seems to move closer and closer to you."

"A light, huh," Ledah pondered a moment. "Well, I don't remember seeing anything like that, but it's possible that I just forgot about it. And what happened to me, I'm not too sure… I found myself in a mix of different places I've been in before. Maybe those places were from my memories."

"Wow," Fia said. "You've been through a lot to get back here, huh."

"Yes I have, but I'm glad to be back here. Maybe now I can learn why Ein has become so attached to all of you."

"I'm sure it won't take you long, but we've told you many times over already," Fia told him. "He knows what he was and is fighting for. He wants peace in Riviera and for the lives of those who live here to continue. That's what purity is."

"That… is still something I don't understand," Ledah murmured. "Maybe I have to think about it more."

"You try that," Serene reassured him. "I'm sure you'll one day find the answer, and when you do, I hope you will fight alongside us to protect everything we are trying to protect."

"The Accursed might be gone, but conflict never ends," Cierra chimed in. "Because of that, we need to suppress the conflict before it gets too big. And if one day the Accursed do return, they'll be disturbing our peace, which we can never forgive them for."

"The Accursed…" Ledah thought aloud. "I wonder if they were Hector's minions too, controlled by him like Malice and I were."

"It doesn't matter," Lina stated. Having finished her applecot, she reached into the basket to get another one. "If the Accursed come again, we'll all beat them together."

"Now that you mention Malice, was she brought back to life too?" Fia asked. "It would make sense, since you were."

"I'm not sure what happened to Malice," Ledah replied, biting into an applecot. "Seth had incredible life force, so Ursula should have been able to manage, but I don't know if she did or not."

"Malice never realized her folly even with her death," Cierra explained. "You were dead already, so I don't expect you to know that, but Hector killed her along with Fia when she pinned Fia down for Hector's shot." Fia winced as she remembered. Cierra continued, "She was glad simple to have assisted Hector with his plans, always thinking it was the will of the Gods. With her harsh life, I hope Ursula forgave her and gave her another chance at life."

"What a sad existence," Ledah remarked. "I kinda feel like she deserves another chance at life too."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Lina exclaimed, reaching for a banango. "Did Ledah just…?"

"Looks like you have one of your emotions back, Ledah," Cierra smiled. "It won't take very long at this rate."

"By the way, where did Ein go?" Fia asked. "What's he doing?"

"I'm here," Ein answered, bringing a pot of tea into the room with seven cups. "Here, some tea, everyone."

"Oh my, thanks so much," Cierra said in her clumsy tone. "I completely forgot about tea."

"Everyone's done eating? I'm bringing the dishes in," Ein announced.

"Ah, Ein! I'll help you!" Fia got up and picked up the empty plates in front of her, Serene, and Ledah, and brought them into the kitchen.

As the other four chatted at the dining table, Fia and Ein washed the dishes together.

"Didn't you say you wanted to go somewhere after dinner?" Ein asked. "I'm still not sure where you want to go."

"Oh, you'll see soon enough, Ein," Fia reassured him, her heart beating faster with expectation.

---

Ledah picked up a banango and an applecot and got up.

"Where are you going, Ledah?" Cierra asked. "We weren't done talking yet!"

"Just the living room. You can come too if you want." With that, he left the room.

"What business does he have there?" Serene wondered. "Come on, let's go."

They entered the living room to see Ledah sitting on a couch he'd pulled close to the couch Rose was sleeping peacefully on. He sat there watching her.

"Should we be bothering them?" Cierra wondered.

"You mean 'him'? Rose isn't going to be bothered by anything unless the house falls down or something," Lina pointed out.

"Yeah, you have a point there, but still…" Serene agreed. "…Let's just leave them alone."

"Meh, okay, fine with me," Cierra said, though her disappointment was obvious. "I'm beat. I guess I'll go to bed now."

"Okay, Cierra," Lina said. "Buh-bye and good night."

"'Night." Cierra went upstairs to the room she made by carving deeper into the tree.

"Hey, Lina, wanna go outside?" Serene suggested. "It must be beautiful out tonight."

"Okay, let's go!" Lina chirped happily as she ran to get her bow.

They made their way to the Grove of Repose. The moon was now high in the sky, and the stars still twinkled around. Through the trees of the grove, the stars seemed to dance through the leaves.

"It's so beautiful," Serene said, inhaling deeply the cool night air. "So peaceful."

"So serene," Lina laughed. "You really want to say that, don't you?"

"Yeah, yeah."

Serene laid down on the grass, both hands behind her head, looking up at the twinkling sky and watching Lina climb a tree. She wasn't sure why, but she'd been thinking of Lina ever since Serene had left to journey. There was something about her that she could not get her mind off of. Serene then realized that she'd actually been missing Lina.

"Lina found an applecot!" she shouted with glee as she pulled out her bow to shoot it down. Her shot went right through the stem holding up the applecot, and it fell to the ground.

"I never miss," she said with pride.

"Lina, you're still a kid, aren't you," Serene whispered to herself. "Maybe that's what makes you so cute." She heard a rustle in the bushes nearby, but dismissed it as the wind.

Lina picked up the applecot and came to lay down by Serene. "Did you say something?"

"No, nothing," Serene replied, looking down at the flowing orange hair on Lina's head. When Lina looked up, their eyes met for a brief moment, before Lina broke the silence.

"Does Serene want some applecot?" she offered, taking a bite.

"No, thanks, Lina," Serene replied more softly than usual, enjoying every moment with Lina. "I had enough from dinner."

"Okay then," Lina turned her head away again to look up at the sky. She then leaned her head against Serene's shoulder. "What a sparkly sky… Lina wants to fly too! Fly though the sparkles!"

Serene put Lina's head in her lap. Lina turned to look up at her, but she just smiled softly. Lina turned back to the sky and took another bite out of the applecot.

"Maybe I can take you for a flight through the sky," Serene said. "I don't know if these wings are strong enough though…"

"Really?" Lina exclaimed. "Let's go, let's go!" She finished up the applecot and threw the core into a nearby hole. A squeak came out from the hole, but she paid no attention.

Serene picked up Lina in her arms and lifted off. Her wings flapping harder than usual, she started slowly, then picked up a little speed, rising over the trees and dipping low over Undine Spring, where Serene noticed two dark figures but paid no attention. _It's probably Ein and Fia, _she thought.

In Serene's arms, Lina giggled and pointed up, having fun like she never had. "It's so pretty! Lina wishes she could take a star home with her!"

"I don't think I can help you with that," Serene informed her.

They continued their flight over Elendia, passing over Lina and Fia's house and the Elder's house. Serene landed on a secluded cliff on a small grassy hill that overlooked Elendia and gave a great view of the sky.

"Lina never knew about this place," Lina thought aloud. "How did you find it?" she asked.

"Oh, I was just flying around one day and found it," Serene explained, setting Lina back on her feet.

"It's nice."

After a moment, Serene went behind Lina and put her arms around her waist. Lina looked up in surprise, but Serene just smiled again.

"Uh, Serene? What…" Lina stammered, a hint of red coming on her cheeks.

Serene felt awkward, her face heating up too. "Shh," she whispered. She didn't know what the others would think, but she was content to be with Lina for now.

Lina turned back and relaxed in Serene's arms. She felt a strange feeling rushing through her heart that she never felt before, but it made her feel good. Still watching the full moon, she stood leaning lightly backwards with Serene behind her, supporting her. She realized that Serene had been on her mind ever since she left last time, and she had missed her.

Serene was also looking up at the sky. With Lina in her arms, she also felt the feeling in her heart, and it was also her first time. She felt strangely, but serenely, at peace with Lina in her embrace. Lina was becoming drowsy and started leaning more heavily on Serene. Serene sat down and put Lina's head in her lap again. She looked down at Lina, who was half-asleep, her eyes closed.

_She looks so cute…_ Serene thought. "I'll always be there for you, to protect you from danger… to watch over you… to be with you… always." She whispered softly. In her lap, Lina's mouth turned subtly to a smile.

"Lina, I… love you…" Serene whispered. "I always have, and I always will."

Lina's eyes opened a little bit. She looked up into Serene's soft face, and replied, "Serene, I love you too." She closed her eyes again and prepared, heart beating away in her chest.

Serene was still for a moment, absorbing what she'd just said, before she slowly leaned over, closed her eyes, and touched her lips with Lina's tenderly. The passionate first kiss seemed to last forever.

_So sweet, like applecot,_ Serene thought as she kissed her. _I never knew that. Maybe it's just all the applecots she'd been eating since dinner?_

_Her mouth is_ _intoxicating. It's so… sweet… _Lina thought. _What's this? It feels good… _Her heart pounded faster, and she felt a tingling sensation thatcoursed through her body.

Serene broke the kiss softly and rose up again, opening her eyes. Lina's eyes also opened a bit.

"Be with me, always," Lina said softly.

"Of course," Serene affirmed. "Always."

Lina smiled up at Serene again, knowing she'd be content with Serene and never want to part again. They kissed again, up on a cliff on a grassy hill somewhere overlooking Elendia, under the twinkling, shining night sky, each wanting to be with the other forever.

--

A/N: Ahh, that was so cute! I really love that pairing . but I really hate yaoi pairings. Maybe that's because I'm a guy? I have no idea… maybe it has something to do with hormones or personality or whatnot…

Haha, sometimes I look back to read a previous chapter or two, and then I realize I've said some things I totally forgot about, like Serene's house I mentioned in chapter 1, I haven't mentioned it up to chapter 11… maybe I'll put it in somewhere… . 

In future fics I'll probably be testing out other, potentially weird, pairings, just to see how they work out. But for now, I'll just keep on working on this one. It's gonna be a long one, folks. Here's the next chapter preview:

Chapter 4: The Night Sky part 2 (Release on July 20, 2006)

It's Rose and Ledah's turn! After spying for a couple minutes on Serene and Lina, they also get caught up in the romantic atmosphere! How will this night unfold? What about Ledah's emotions?


	4. The Night Sky part 2

I wonder if the moon in Riviera waxes and wanes like ours. The only time the moon was mentioned in the game was at Lacrima Castle, and it was full at that time too, at least I think it was. Oh well, I suppose Riviera revolves around a sun too…

You might have noticed some odd errors in the notes area in previous chapters. This is due to the site being unable to recognize certain symbols that I use as… "emoticons." As a result, the sentence looks funny. Sorry about that XD.

Anyway, now, at long last, here is the fourth chapter for The White Wings. This has the first romance scene between Rose and Ledah, and personally, I love it.

I had a friend of mine read over this chapter and the next for some corrections and/or additions that might make it better. I love romance, but sometimes I have trouble with it XD.

Disclaimer: see chapter 1 as usual. Enjoy chapter 4!

--

Ledah was still sitting next to Rose, watching her sleep peacefully. The house was empty except for them and Cierra upstairs sleeping. Rose's eyes opened slowly.

"Where… am I?" Rose asked. She saw Ledah sitting next to her.

"You dozed off while walking back here," Ledah replied. "I carried you back, and you slept right through dinner."

"Aw, why didn't you wake me," Rose joked, smacking Ledah lightly on the head. "I wanted to eat too, you know."

"No one wanted to wake you," Ledah informed her. "You were sleeping so peacefully. Well, I saved you some fruit anyway." He handed her the applecot and banango.

"Oh, thanks, Ledah, that was thoughtful," Rose said, more softly than before. "Come on, let's go." She pulled him towards the door.

"Go? Go where?" Ledah stammered as he let her drag him out of the door after putting shoes on.

"I told you before, let's go somewhere nice after dinner."

"Well, at least let me walk, or fly," Ledah protested. "We'll probably get there faster. And you didn't eat dinner."

Rose agreed to stop dragging him, but she still held on to Ledah's hand. He didn't protest as she happily led him by the hand towards the Grove of Repose.

"Why the grove?" Ledah asked.

"It's always peaceful there," Rose replied. "Come on, don't complain."

"I can't complain if I don't have emotions yet."

"Good point."

They arrived at the grove, but someone else had beaten them there. Rose saw a lone figure lying on the grass and another figure coming down from the tree, picking up a small, round object from the ground.

"Come on, let's hide over here," Rose whispered, pointing at a bush. They crouched down carefully, watching the two figures through the bush.

"I never miss," the figure that picked up the object said. "Does Serene want an applecot?"

"It's Serene and Lina!" Rose whispered to Ledah with excitement. Ledah just raised an eyebrow, though Rose couldn't see it in the dark.

They watched as Serene put Lina's head into her lap. "Whoa, what's going on?" Rose was getting more excited.

"Really?" Lina exclaimed. "Let's go, let's go!"

Serene picked up Lina in her arms and lifted off into the night sky. After a moment of shocked silence, Rose and Ledah crawled back out of the bushes.

"What the heck just happened here?" Rose exclaimed. "Serene and Lina? Together? Ohmygods! That's the most hilarious thing I've ever seen!" She doubled over in laughter. After a few seconds, she regained her stance. "Wow! Who would've thought?" She looked back at Ledah. "Well, enough about them."

Ledah just stood looking at the sky. "It really is nice here," he commented. "I can see why they chose this spot."

"Ledah, weren't you paying attention!" Rose exclaimed. "Those two were making out!"

"I don't understand. What's so interesting about that?"

"Ah, it's the emotions thing again, isn't it," Rose looked down. "Ah, forget it. Sorry."

Rose turned her body towards Ledah, and moved slowly to embrace him. "What a nice night out tonight." Behind her in the sky, the full moon was up a quarter of the way in the sky. The stars twinkled, making Rose seem sparkly. In surprise, Ledah's mind filled with running thoughts as he stood in Rose's embrace. Slowly, he returned the hug, putting his own arms around her back.

"Yeah, that's the way," Rose said softly in his ear.

Ledah began to have a strange sensation in his heart. He could sense it, hear it screaming in pain, from the emotions it didn't have, from the emotions it wanted to have. Suddenly, it exploded within him, and he recoiled from the pain.

"Ledah? What's wrong?" Rose asked, concerned.

"Ah, something… hurts…" Ledah answered. "What's going on? Suddenly… I feel… different."

"Different?"

"I can feel… I can feel it!" Ledah exclaimed. "Pain, sadness, excitement…"

"Lorelei?" Rose pointed at his diviner.

Ledah turned to see Lorelei glowing red. Its aura was bright, and seemed to pierce right to his heart. He felt the pain, but behind it, also pleasure. He didn't know why he was suddenly given his emotions back this night, but he was grateful.

"Ledah? Does it still hurt?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, but it's a good hurt," Ledah said with a smile. "It's nice to be able to feel again."

"Wow, a smile," Rose remarked. "It's got to be the first time I've seen such a smile on your face."

"Yeah, I can't smile much without emotion."

"It's almost like Lorelei's unlocking your clammed up emotions inside," Rose observed. "I wonder if Lorelei will lose its power once you regain your emotions?"

"Didn't you tell me before, Rose?" Ledah reminded her. "Those who fight with emotions are much better fighters than emotionless fighters."

"Well, you also don't want to lose your strength," Rose returned. "What use do emotions have if you can't use them?"

"Ah, in times of peace, it doesn't matter…"

"I guess you have a point there, but what about when we're threatened again? What then?"

"We'll see what happens when the time comes."

Lorelei glowed brighter, surrounding Ledah with red light. Ledah embraced the light with expectation. Lorelei suddenly burst into flames, which subsided in a couple seconds. After the flames died, Lorelei lay on the ground, with its full former condition.

_I think I can entrust your emotions back with you. You are the one best able to use your emotions to your benefit._

The words echoed inside Ledah's head. _It is time you received control of your heart once again. Follow your heart well, and don't let me down._

"I understand," Ledah decreed. "I shall become stronger with the help of these emotions."

"Ledah?" Rose looked at him curiously. "Who are you talking to?"

"My old friend, Lorelei," Ledah answered. "It's been a long time since I heard her voice."

Ledah picked up Lorelei and swung it around a couple times. Flames shot out from its tip. Satisfied, he sheathed it again. He could still feel the flames of power within, but something else was there. A desire to help and to protect. He could feel it calling to him. At once, he understood the mission that was assigned to him ever since he was born.

"To help and to protect…" Ledah pondered. "I get it now."

"What the heck are you babbling about?" Rose smacked him on the head again, but not to hurt.

"Lorelei… has shown me the way to live, the path of life that was built for me."

"I see." Rose understood what he was saying. "Well, we can put that incident aside for now…"

Rose walked over to an undisturbed patch of grass that Serene and Lina hadn't touched and lay down, looking up at the same night sky. Ledah, meanwhile, had pulled Lorelei back out and was staring at it. After a moment, he shook out of his reverie and sheathed it again, and came over to where Rose lay and laid down beside her.

Rose turned to Ledah. "So? What do you think, now that you have your emotions back?"

"I think it's beautiful," Ledah replied. "What a great night."

"It's so romantic."

After a couple moments of silence, Ledah sat up behind Rose and set her head on his chest. Rose didn't resist as he set his arms around her waist.

"I understand why you picked this place," Ledah whispered in her ear. "It's really peaceful and serene." He gently kissed her on her neck.

Rose she felt her body shudder and melt as his gentle lips brushed against her neck. "Yeah, that's exactly it."

Ledah's head was spinning. With his newly regained emotions, he could understand everything he was previously unable to. _This is so sudden, but I think this is right…_

Rose turned around in his embrace to face him. She pecked him on the cheek, then shrunk away a little, blushing.

"I want to be with you… always…" Rose said under her breath, which was getting short and ragged. She felt her cheeks growing warm and her heart pounding away inside, as if it were driving her lungs. She could see Ledah's face turning slightly red too, and heard his short raspy breath in the cool night. "Always… ever since first meeting you… and always will… for the rest of my life."

"I do too," Ledah replied. "I'll always be by your side, to protect you, to be with you, to _love_ you…"

"I love you, Ledah…"

"And I love you too, Rose."

As his lips met hers, Ledah felt his emotions inside explode again. Wrapping his wings around her, he felt at peace, as if he finally found his place in life. _What a nice sensation, _he thought. _I don't think I can ever let go._

As Ledah covered her with his wings, Rose felt as if she'd never be able to part with him. She filled with ecstasy and joy. Breaking the kiss softly, she whispered to him, "Promise me… promise me that you'll never leave me, that I can always be with you…"

"I promise, Rose," Ledah affirmed. "I promise to always be by your side."

As they kissed again, the moon reached its peak in the sky and the stars continued to twinkle and dance around it in the shining night sky. Soon after, Rose drifted off to sleep in Ledah's protective embrace, in his wings, with full contentment of fulfillment.

--

A/N: Wheee! I love that pairing (Don't you just want to say "aww!"?)! I've only read small hints for LxR, but no full romance like that squeak. Okay, I sound like a fangirl… don't get me wrong, I'm a guy. That's why I loved the previous chapter anyway :D

I've been slacking off lately… I wrote one chapter in three days and slacked off for two days. I should stop doing that, or my work will catch up to me XD. And Klondike Days just began (If you don't know, it's a festival that lasts 10 days in Canada), so I'll be slacking even more… and once school starts, it's gonna be even worse. Anyway, nothing much else to say, so here's the next chapter preview:

Chapter 5: Moonlit Water (Release on July 23, 2006)

It's Ein and Fia's turn! They make their way to the secluded Undine Springs, where the moonlight sparkles on the water. How will their night fare?


	5. Moonlit Water

I like writing. It kinda gives you godlike powers. The characters all do exactly as you say, just because you said so. That's the beauty of writing, though sometimes you get it wrong… I think that's one of the reasons why authors write.

Anyway, here we are, at chapter 5. This is one of the shortest (if not the shortest) chapters in the whole fic, and admittedly, it might not go the way you want. But hey, that invokes feelings, usually…

Heh, this "out under the stars" romance is getting a bit cliché, but whatever, it's still romantic no matter how many times you do it… I should have made this longer… Future ExF romance chapters will be written longer, keeping this chapter in mind XD.

Disclaimer: see chapter 1

Now, enjoy chapter 5!

--

"Uh, where are we going?"

Ein was being pulled along by Fia. Her light green dress flowed behind her and nearly tripped him several times. He felt her green hair brush against his face over and over, but oddly, he didn't become annoyed.

"Undine Spring," Fia replied. "Come on, Ein."

"Uh, can't I walk myse-ouch!" Ein fell down face first onto the ground when Fia let go.

"I don't think so," Fia teased, helping Ein up and brushing dirt off his face lightly. "Ready to keep going?

"Yeah," Ein said. "I should wash off at the spring too."

They made their way to the spring. Meute, Nono, and the other fairies were nowhere to be seen.

"How nice," Fia remarked. "It's completely empty."

"Awesome, but let me wash off my face."

As Ein dipped his hands into the water, Fia sat down on the grass near the rocks where they usually bathed. She blushed slightly, thinking of the times when Ein barged in "by accident," though it usually made her giggle, and tonight was no exception.

"What's so funny?" Ein turned his head towards her.

"Oh, nothing, just a few memories, that's all."

Ein finished washing and came over to Fia's side. "What memories?"

"Just you peeking at us while we were bathing, Ein."

Ein blushed. "I keep telling you, it was an accident!" Ein insisted.

"Once might be, but twice?" Fia winked. "Come on, you couldn't have destroyed a magic golem by 'accident' now could you?"

"Well, I guess not," Ein admitted, looking away. "Curiosity, okay?"

"You just keep making excuses, Ein," Fia giggled. "Maybe that's your most appealing quality…"

"Huh?" Ein looked at her in surprise. Fia turned back to the spring. The light of the moon and stars reflected off the softly rippling water, making it shimmer. The reflection of the moonlight seemed to make a path outwards.

"Isn't it beautiful…?" Fia murmured, gazing in wonder. Ein, confused, looked towards the spring.

"Sure is."

"You know… I don't mind if you peek… Ein…" Fia looked off into the night.

"What the heck? Why… wha…" Ein stammered, staring at her. He felt his heart begin to beat faster.

"I know I can trust you, Ein," Fia glanced back at him for a second, her face getting hot despite her best efforts to calm herself. "Just so long as you tell me you're there, I'm happy that you're nearby."

Ein turned red as a tomato. "Even if you don't mind, Fia, Serene's still there to give me a beating."

"Just keep out of her sight, I guess…" Fia laughed. "I shouldn't be encouraging you to peek, but I do trust you, more than the others seem to." Fia smiled up at him, blushing lightly, and found that his face was completely flushed. "Aw, Ein, you're so cute."

Fia leaned her head on his shoulder. Still in shock, he managed to not faint. He slowly put his arm around her, and she cuddled in further, putting her own arm around his waist.

"What a beautiful night… Ein, we should come out here more often, just the two of us. Okay?"

"U-uh, s-sure thing," Ein agreed, still recovering.

"You know… I've been thinking… about you… all the time, ever since you fell from the sky," Fia said slowly, turning her head back to the sky and the water.

"About me?" Ein was confused again. "What about?"

"Well…" Fia thought for a moment. "You're dependable, strong, and protective. You care about all of us, and fought to protect everyone from the demon threat. Thanks for everything, Ein."

"Uh, it… wasn't… much… was it?" Ein's head was spinning.

"Yes it was!" Fia exclaimed. "Your actions were everything to us! If you hadn't come along, we might not even be here! And I… I might not be here with you…" Fia looked down, her cheeks burning again.

"Oh, Fia… thanks. It's great to be thanked for that."

"Just like Ledah's getting his emotions back, you might get your wings back too…" Fia told him. "When you do, you can become a full angel again… and…" Tears ran down her face.

"Fia? What is it?" Ein looked at her with a concerned expression.

"I'm… a sprite, and… you're an angel…" Fia started to sob, and turned to Ein and started crying on his shoulder. "How can we… be together? sniff I… want to be with you…"

"Fia, it's okay," Ein put her hand on the back of her head, running his hand down her hair, soothing her. "Even if I'm an angel, I don't want to leave here. I want to be with everyone, with you. So don't worry."

Fia looked up into his eyes. "Really?"

Ein looked down at her. Her eyes were filled with tears. "Yeah. I'll be by your side, always."

The tears started streaming down even faster. Suddenly, Fia jumped into him, and Ein almost fell backwards in surprise. He quickly recovered, lying on the ground. Fia continued to cry on his chest.

"Ein, I… I…" Fia stammered. _I love you! I really love you!_

"Shhh, it's okay," Ein whispered. "You can always tell me later, so don't worry about it. I'm not going anywhere, anyway." He ran his hand along her hair.

"O-okay…" Fia said reluctantly, and continued to cry on his chest. _There's always next time… but I'm almost getting tired of waiting… Why couldn't I do it! I just hope "next time" isn't too late…_

After a while, Fia stopped crying and fell asleep. Ein gently rolled her over onto her side, putting her head in his lap, and stroked her face lightly. _She's so cute when she's asleep, _he thought. _I'll probably have to carry her home tonight._

Ein sat with Fia sleeping peacefully on his lap for another few minutes, just looking at the sky and the water. After a while, he picked up Fia in his arms and headed home.

He entered the house quietly as to not disturb anyone. He was surprised to find that Rose and Ledah were gone and weren't in their rooms. Serene and Lina were gone too. He shrugged and entered Fia's room. Setting her down gently on her bed, he put the pillow under her head and pulled the sheets up to tuck her in. As he turned to leave, he heard a soft voice.

"Ein… don't leave…"

Ein turned around. "Fia?"

"Ein, stay with me… please…"

"Okay," Ein agreed. He sat down in a chair and watched her sleep. He didn't notice the faint smile that came onto her mouth. After a while, he dozed off too, and didn't wake until morning.

When he woke up the next day, he found the bed empty. Fia was gone, and no one had seen her leave.

--

A/N: Some "aww"s invoked? I doubt there were tears though XD. Anyways, that last sentence was meant to be a cliffhanger-sort of tension bringer.

I think I might have disappointed some hardcore ExF fans out there… flame me if you wish. It might make me work harder in future chapters XD. Note I said "might," heh heh…

How well I write a chapter depends on what mood I was in on the day I wrote it. I guess this was one of my bad days. I wanted to build up for future chapters. Now, the next chapter preview:

Chapter 6: Fia's Gone? (Release on July 27, 2006)

Fia's gone, and a search begins. Ein searches the village while the others inspect Fia's room. They come across some interesting things to clue in to what happened. How does the inspection go?


	6. Fia's Gone?

Magic catalysts… magicians used them in _Negima: Magister Negi Magi _(one of the best, if not the best, manga, though the anime's not as good), so I don't see why they wouldn't in Riviera (besides the fact that the two stories are set in completely different universes). Well, I just put one in here… it's just used as evidence.

Anyway, here is the long-awaited (or maybe not-so-long-awaited) chapter 6 to The White Wings. Some SxL hints in here, but nothing to be worried about if yuri offends you.

Cierra gets an average role here… it's not that I hate her or anything, but her role in this fic doesn't seem to large so far. I'll see what I can get her to do in future chaps.

In this chapter, I finally get a chance to mention Serene's house (although it's kinda random). I'll mention it again in a future chapter, probably past chapter 10.

See chapter 1 for the disclaimer, and enjoy chapter 6!

--

"Ah, where did Fia go?"

Ein searched the house frantically but could find no trace of Fia. Her rapier was in the same position as when she'd left it the night before, and her clothes were untouched.

"Ein?" Cierra came down the stairs, rubbing her eyes and yawning, to see Ein frantically searching the house. "Are you looking for something?"

"Fia's gone! Look, every shoe is still here!"

"Hm, now that you mention it, I haven't seen the other four since-"

"GOOD MORNING!"

"-last…night? Lina! Oh, good morning. You too, Serene." Cierra completely forgot for a moment that Fia was missing. "Where did you two go last night?"

"Oh, just, you know, out…" Serene answered, giving Lina a furtive glance.

"Lina slept over at Serene's house!" Lina exclaimed. Serene stared at her, shocked. Lina just grinned and winked, so Serene let it slide.

"Oh my… I suppose Rose and Ledah were-"

"Hello!"

"-Out too? Oh, hey, Rose, Ledah… I guess you two were 'out,' too?"

Rose, who was waving from Ledah's arms in the air, nodded. Ledah touched down on the ground lightly and put Rose down on her feet.

"Gee, what did I miss last night?" Cierra wondered.

"Don't worry, I don't think it would interest you much," Ledah replied, giving Rose a wink. She grinned back.

"Uh, hey, Cierra?" Ein called from inside the house.

"Yes, Ein? What's wrong?"

"Fia's still gone, right?"

"Oh, yeah! I just remembered!" Cierra snapped her fingers and turned back to the group outside the door. "Did any of you see Fia anywhere?"

They all shook their heads. "Not since last night's dinner," Lina piped up.

"Damn…" Ein charged through the crowd at the door and left.

"What's gotten into him?" Serene wondered as he watched him go.

"Dunno," Cierra said. "He said something about Fia missing, but I never saw her leave."

"Should we help him look?" Rose looked worried. "It sounds kinda serious…"

"No, he'll be fine," Ledah replied. Everyone turned to look at him. "That boy's grown up fast. I'm pretty sure he'll be able to find her on his own."

"You do have a point there…" Rose mumbled.

"Yeah, and Elendia's not that big," Serene added. "He could search the whole village in less than an hour. She couldn't have gone that far…"

"Could she have been kidnapped…?" Cierra wondered. Everyone turned to stare. "I mean, she just disappeared without a trace. That doesn't sound like the Fia I know."

"Yeah, something's strange," Lina said. "Lina will check her room!" she chirped.

Lina, with Serene following close behind, entered Fia's room. The window was closed, but the blinds were open, allowing sunlight to stream though and lighting the room up. Fia's bed wasn't made, but it seemed like she was teleported out from under the covers, since the covers weren't moved aside.

"Isn't this odd?" Serene poked at the sheets. "If she got out physically, wouldn't this blanket be in a different position?

"Yeah, that makes sense," Lina agreed. "What else doesn't belong here? Teeheehee, it's like a game!" she giggled.

"Sheesh," Serene shook her head. "Always was a kid, still a kid, always will be a kid…"

"Hey, look, Serene!" Lina pointed at a sword resting against the wall, point down. "She left Rosier here? Why would she do that?"

"Now that's interesting too," Serene pondered. "If she was in a hurry and forgot her sword, she wouldn't have taken the time to make the bed look like that, and if she wasn't in a hurry, she would have done the bed better and taken her sword with her… and if she was just going out for a while it still doesn't make sense for her to do the bed like that…"

"Lina doesn't understand, but okay!" Lina skipped out the door. "Let's go back downstairs!"

Serene glided down the stairs behind Lina, who jumped down the stairs three steps at a time.

"Sigh… one day you're gonna-" Serene began.

"Whoa!" Lina fell down on the last step.

"-trip and fall… oh geez, Lina."

"Why did you have to say that?" Lina half-shouted. "You're jinxing me… ouch!"

"Come on, Lina," Serene encouraged. "Ah, whatever…" She picked up Lina in her arms again.

"Haha, thanks, Serene." Lina blushed, playing with her pigtails.

"No problem."

"What happened?" Ledah asked, approaching with the rest of the group.

"Oh, Lina fell down the stairs," Serene replied.

"I mean with the room."

"Ledah, that was mean!" Lina wailed.

"Oh, it was pretty strange," Serene told him, winking down at Lina.

"Serene, you too…?" Lina mumbled.

"Strange? How?" Rose asked.

"Well, it seems like she couldn't have left the room physically. Why don't you all take a look? It's hard to explain."

Everyone made his/her way upstairs to Fia's room.

"See, her bed is the oddest thing here," Serene explained. "It's not made, but it doesn't look like she got out."

"I get what you're saying," Cierra said, rubbing her chin. "Fia's great at making her bed, so why does it look so bad… but then again it doesn't look like she got out at all."

"And Fia's Rosier is here too," Lina added, pointing at the sword resting against the wall.

"Hmm, was she in a hurry then?" Rose wondered.

"If she was in a hurry, then would she have time to make her bed like that?" Ledah asked.

"Okay, I guess not, but then was she not in a hurry?" Rose tried. "Wait, she wouldn't have forgotten Rosier… maybe she didn't need it because she was going out for just a couple minutes?"

"But it all comes back to the bed," Cierra stated. "Why does it look like that?"

"It's as if something or someone made her disappear from under the sheets," Ledah reasoned thoughtfully. "Could be magic."

"We should go tell Ein. Why don't we go," Serene indicated herself and Lina, "and you three stay and look for more clues?"

"Sure thing," Cierra replied. "Find him fast."

"Okay," Serene called behind her. "We're off!"

Rose was staring at a seashell she found on the counter with Fia's things. "Of all things, why does she have a random seashell here, and not in a container either?"

Cierra went back into the room. "What?"

"See, look at this," Ledah pointed. "Why's that here?"

"Hmm," Cierra picked up the shell. "A… catalyst?"

"Catalyst?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, for magic," Cierra explained. "This seashell catalyzes teleportation magic."

"Teleportation!" Rose exclaimed. "Then she WAS teleported out!"

"So she was kidnapped then?" Ledah added.

"Seems so," Cierra said sadly. "I hope she's fine… and Ein too…"

--

A/N: Another short chapter. Next chapter will be quite long, probably about 2.5 times the size of this one.

There's not too much to say about this chapter. It just sets up the fact that magic was used to kidnap Fia. Don't worry, the culprit isn't some perverted magician XD.

On the next chapter of The White Wings…

Chapter 7: The Trials (Release on July 30, 2006)

After receiving the information from Serene and Lina, Ein meets another unexpected guest during his search for Fia. What does this guest have in store for him? What about Fia? What is the strange voice calling to Ein in his head? And what's this? Ein's transforming?


	7. The Trials

I'm getting my wisdom teeth pulled tomorrow (as in, the day after I post this chapter). Good luck to me! I've heard nothing but horror stories about wisdom teeth, except from those whose teeth grow perfectly and don't need pulling. Makes me a bit shaky just thinking about it… Well, I'll tell you all how it went in the next chapter foreword. (Wow, I could almost use this as a public diary… if there's any such thing)

Somebody has to manga-ize Riviera. Seriously, this game is awesome, and I bet a manga/anime based on it would be awesome too. I'd gladly pay $20 (USD) per volume for a manga based on this game. That's just how good it is XD.

Anyway, welcome to chapter 7 of The White Wings. As promised, this chapter is much longer than the previous chapter. Now, I feel like I have to say this…

WARNING! This chapter contains nudity! Not recommended for young children! (perhaps…)

Okay, done. Disclaimer, see chapter 1. Now, enjoy!

--

"Argh, no one's seen her!" Ein was frustrated. He'd searched the whole village twice over.

"Ein! Ein!"

Ein spun around. Flying towards him was Serene, with Lina in her arms.

"Ah, Serene! Lina! Did you find her?"

"No, we didn't, but we have a pretty good hunch that she was kidnapped," Serene responded as she landed lightly. "Can you stand yet?" she asked Lina.

"Yeah, I think so," Lina answered. Serene gingerly set her down, and she stretched a bit. "Thanks, Serene."

Ein managed to recover, and now asked, "Kidnapped? What do you mean?"

"I mean, she was taken out of the house during the night," Serene explained. "She seemed to have just disappeared out of the bed, and her sword was still in her room."

"Damn it!" Ein drove Einherjar into the ground. "Who would have done that?"

"Ein, relax," Serene coaxed. "I know you're upset, but control that anger. It won't help solve a thing."

Ein took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm fine. Now, what the heck could have happened…"

"I don't know, but she might be in the village…" Serene suggested.

"Ein's searched the whole time we were at the house," Lina reminded her, done her stretching.

"Well, it doesn't hurt to look again," Ein sighed. "I might have missed something twice."

"Yeah, it's possible, but I doubt we can miss it a third time," Serene winked. "Especially if we're looking too."

Serene headed to the Grove of Repose, Lina to Undine Spring, and Ein set off for Crystal Caverns.

Once in the cave, Ein marched to Ritz and asked for the third time that day, "You haven't seen Fia, have you?"

"No, I haven't," Ritz answered. "This sounds pretty serious though. What happened?"

"She just disappeared without a trace overnight, and was missing this morning."

"Oh my… Well, I'll contact you if I find any information, okay?"

"Please do," Ein thanked him and walked to the back cave where the magic circle was.

Suddenly, a dark aura formed in front of him, and a figure appeared, dressed in crimson red like Ledah, but with the attire of Hector. It held a staff taller than itself.

"A… Magus?" Ein asked with wonder.

"That's right." The figure's mouth didn't move, but Ein heard the words. "I am Andreia (and-DRAY-ah), one of the female Magi in the group of the six Magi. You are Ein, the Grim Angel wielding Einherjar, correct?"

"Uh, yeah, that's right," Ein answered warily. "What exactly do you want?"

"I have Fia with me," Andreia said. "Come with me, and I shall return her to you if I deem you worthy."

"A-all right, I'll do it."

"Then here comes your first trial."

Andreia waved the staff in the shape of a magic circle, and Ein became surrounded with fog. When the fog cleared, he was in a clearing. Grass covered the ground, and where there was no grass there was a light colored dirt. A few trees were scattered around. The sky was red-orange, and clouds covered parts of the sky. The sun shone behind him, and he faced Andreia, who was some distance away from him.

Andreia chanted a spell in Asgardian. Clouds of smoke appeared, and as the smoke cleared, Ein could see several figures. As the last of the smoke disappeared, he recoiled from shock.

"What… what is this…"

Standing in front of him were 101 Fias, or copies of Fia, each dressed in different attire. One was wearing a kimono; another dressed in a t-shirt and shorts; another in her usual green dress. Behind him was Fia wearing a miniskirt, Fia in a bathing suit, and most striking of all, Fia completely naked. He stared for a couple seconds before shaking himself out of his reverie.

"Your task is to find the real Fia in this group," Andreia explained. "There are 100 copies, but only one real Fia here. Find her, and you both leave her alive. Fail, and you'll never see her again."

"What the hell kinda test is that?" Ein yelled.

"This is to test how well you know Fia," Andreia replied. "Every copy has her exact physical form, and each has a different part of her personality. Only one is different from the others. You must find that one."

"Oh, Gods…" He turned in several full circles. All of the Fias simply looked at him with blank eyes. He closed his eyes. A voice reached out to him in his head.

"Ein, you can do this. Follow your heart. The one that is completely different from the rest is the one you're looking for. There is only one existence to a being, so don't let the copies fool you."

_I don't know who that is, but it sounds so familiar. Those words make sense too. Okay, I think I got it._

Ein's eyes opened slowly. One by one, he eliminated each copy in his mind.

"This is easy!" Ein shouted. "The real Fia… is her!" He reached out to grab an arm.

"Eek! Ein! What's going on?"

Ein turned to look, but quickly turned away. He had grabbed the arm of the naked Fia, who had been half-asleep during the test, but was now wide awake.

Ein turned again, willing himself to not gawk and stare. "This is a test that that Magus invented," he explained, indicating Andreia, who was now approaching. The copies disappeared with a wave of her hand.

"Test?" Fia asked.

"That's what she called it," Ein said, now strangely calm. "She made 100 copies of you and asked me to pick you out."

"How did you know it was me?" Fia wondered.

"It was easy," Ein smiled. "You're the only one that radiated kindness, compassion, and love. I knew it had to be you."

"Wow, Ein…" Fia looked down and blushed, and, for the first time, noticed she was completely naked.

"Or was it because of this…?" Fia teased, indicating her bare body.

"Aack! No! No way!" Ein turned beet red.

"Hee hee, you're so fun to tease," Fia giggled. She took his arm and pressed up close. "Thanks, Ein…"

"Uh, yeah…"

"Okay, that's enough talk for now," Andreia said. "There is one more test to perform."

"What, another one?" Ein complained. "What is it this time?"

"You fight," Andreia replied. "If you complete this test, I shall give you new wings. Unlike the previous test, you can yield anytime you want, but you will not get your wings back. You have to defeat all the enemies here. If you do not protect her, she will be attacked. Also, Fia's survival isn't necessary to complete this test."

"Hm, sounds simple enough," Ein reasoned. "Okay, I'll give it a shot. Getting my wings back, huh? That's reason enough."

"Get your wings back?" Fia murmured. "Okay, I'll do whatever I can to help you, Ein."

"What? What can you do without a weapon… and completely naked too..." Ein blushed again. "Dance some seductive dance? Seduce the enemies to death?"

"I don't know, but I'll do my best."

"Well, okay, I can't stop you, but stay out of danger, okay? Here we go…"

Andreia chanted another spell in Asgardian. "50 spirit copies!" she finished.

"Wha, 50!" Ein yelled. "Isn't that a bit much?"

"You can yield whenever you want, Ein. Get ready."

"It's no use, Ein," Fia assured him. "Come on, just do your best."

"Yeah." Ein nodded in her direction, and quickly turned away. Fia giggled from behind him.

"Begin!"

With a flash of light, a spirit appeared, brandishing a spear. Behind it, several others appeared, each with a different weapon.

_Damn, I don't know about this… _Ein thought as he charged into the fray. Behind him, Fia began chanting a healing spell.

_Oh, right! Fia's got my back with healing spells!_

Ein dashed out with Einherjar at his side. He shifted to the right to dodge the first spear attack, and thrust through the chest. The spirit and the spear disappeared.

"Hmm… this might be tough…"

He continued to hack through the fray, but went too far and became surrounded. A scythe hit him in the back, and an arrow shot from a bow grazed his waist.

"Ow…" Ein winced. He leapt backwards through the air. He pulled out a Gran Saber from his side in midair, and with a sword in both hands, hacked through a spirit on each side of him.

"Heal!" Fia shouted. A soft white light covered Ein, and his wounds disappeared.

Without missing a beat, Ein lunged out again and hacked through the bow spirit's head with Einherjar, and spun around and stabbed an axe wielding spirit in the chest with the Gran Sabre. Both vanished. Recovering, Ein quickly jumped back into the air, dodging several attacks on the spot where he was standing, flipped, and drove the two weapons through another two spirits while landing, and spun quickly, slashing another three.

"That's ten down," Ein panted. "Man, this is tiring."

"Ahh! Ein!"

Ein spun around to see Fia surrounded by spirits. One of them had hold of her, threatening to kill her.

"Fia!" Ein yelled. _Damn…_

"What will you do, Ein?" Andreia asked. "She does not need to survive in order for you to receive your wings."

_She doesn't need to survive?_ "I…"

"What the heck, Ein? This fight… what is its true purpose? What are you fighting for in this fight? Your wings? Or her life?"

_It's that voice in my head again…_ "I'm fighting for…"

"Don't ever forget, Ein, or you shall fail as Hector did."

"I got it."

The spirits charged at Fia, ready to finish her off.

"Stop! I yield!"

The spirits stopped their charge.

"Are you sure, Ein?" Andreia asked.

"Of course. My wings aren't worth Fia's life. She's much more valuable to me than the wings I've lived without for such a long time."

"Ein…" Fia blushed.

"Spirits, I recall you!"

The spirit warriors disappeared.

"Fia!" Ein rushed to her side.

"Ein… thanks so much…" Fia, still blushing, said weakly. "Ah… I'm so sorry…" Tears welled up in her eyes.

"It's alright now. Don't worry about it."

Fia squeezed her eyes closed, and the tears ran out. She threw her arms around Ein's neck and sobbed lightly on his chest. Ein put a comforting hand on her back before looking up at Andreia, who was now coming over to where they sat.

"Just what I'd expected from the purehearted wingless angel," Andreia commented. "Ein, wielder of Einherjar, you have the power of your diviner at its most powerful level, because you use it to protect. Doing that brings out the full potential of your diviner."

"Well, isn't that what we're meant to do with our diviners, as Grim Angels?" Ein asked.

Andreia nodded. "Yes, that is the intention of the diviner, but most Grim Angels do not realize that. They simply see it as a weapon to kill, not protect. That limits their power. You have proven me your might. I shall grant you..."

She chanted a spell softly. Ein began to glow with a soft light.

"Einherjar! Become his wings! Wings of Light!"

"Whoaa!" Fia, who had just fainted, was gently pulled out of his arms as he was lifted high into the air, completely enveloped by a bright, blinding light, but the light did not hurt his eyes. He felt two wings pierce through his back. He looked up but could only see light. Beyond his vision, feathers spawned out of the light and attached to his wings. After a moment, the light disappeared and, losing the support of the light, Ein began to fall to the ground. Calmly, he tested his control over his wings, and began to flap. He slowed his descent quickly, and landed gently. His back hurt a little from the suddenness, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

"Ein, wielder of the Einherjar, the Wings of Light belong to you, the savior of Riviera."

Ein pulled his wings up in front of him to see what he had just received. His wings emitted a soft glow. The light originated from the soft feathers that covered the wings. The wings themselves were a pure white, and strangely, he felt stronger than he had before. Then, he suddenly realized something was missing.

"Uh, Andreia, where's my diviner?"

"Einherjar has become your new wings, Ein," Andreia explained. "Einherjar was forged from your past wings, and although those wings were black, you were given a holy diviner. That's why your wings are now the purest white possible, spawned from a pure being with a pure heart. So now, you're a Light Angel, one level above the Grim Angels."

"Light Angel… I… see… but why? Why did you do that?"

"You, Ein, are one of a kind. There is no other Grim Angel in Asgard who understands his true duty. As the one who understands, you deserve this power, and one day, you may need to lead them."

"Me? But I just want to live in peace here in Riviera…"

"If Riviera is ever threatened again, possibly by another selfish Magus, you need to defend it. That is the true will of the Gods."

Ein didn't respond, but thought about it.

"I'm sure many of the Grim Angels will be able to help you, but I'm also sure that some will oppose you," Andreia stated. "Because of that, you need a weapon, the weapon of the Light Angels."

Andreia chanted another spell, and out of another bright flash of light, a glowing sword appeared, floating in front of Ein. It took the shape of his old diviner, but glowed a snow white rather than yellow. The sword pointed downwards and landed about a meter in front of Ein.

Ein proceeded to pull his new sword out. It came out easily, and felt as light as a feather in his hand, but through him it pulsed the power of several diviners.

"This power… it's like… 10 Einherjars…"

"I present to you, Ein, the pure white Angel Blade, Oracion, the sword of justice and freedom, forged in the shape of Einherjar so you wouldn't need to adjust to a new shape."

"Oracion…" Ein murmured, and swung it. The sword moved much faster than his eye could follow at the moment. Each time he swung, a small blade of light emerged from the tip and traveled a few meters.

"That's one of Oracion's powers, producing a blade of light, allowing you to hit an enemy from far away. In addition, your execution skill Disaresta has become one of the normal attacks with Oracion, and there are several levels of attacks you can perform. Your new execution skill at full power is enough to defeat Seth-Rah in one blow."

"Wow," Ein said, genuinely amazed, his head spinning at the new turn of events, absorbing all that he'd just heard.

"Urgh…"

"Fia?" Ein rushed to her side. She was just beginning to come to.

"Ah… Ein…" Fia looked up at him and gasped. "Wings! Wha… and Einherjar! It's… glowing white? What happened?"

"I can explain later." Ein gave her a soft, gentle, caring smile. "For now, let's get out of this place so you can rest."

"Um, okay…"

With a wave of Andreia's hand, the clearing disappeared, and he found himself standing with Fia in his arms in the magic circle cave in the Crystal Caverns. Fia had drifted back to sleep with exhaustion, so Ein carried her home, the whole way wondering what that voice in his head was.

--

A/N: Weird voice in his head! Yeah, I didn't mean it to be random. I'm gonna build on it in a future chapter, so for now, place your bets on who the voice is! XD

How's that for transformation? I'd have to say this is the best chapter so far. Well, I guess it's not surprising that no one came up with this idea in a fanfic yet, considering the tiny number of Rivvy fanfics.

By the way, if you haven't noticed, I've changed the genre of this fic from Romance/General to Romance/Action/Adventure. Small change, yes, but I feel like it's moving more in that direction.

Anyway, on the next chapter of The White Wings (which is almost as long as this chapter)…

Chapter 8: The Wings Reborn (Release on August 3, 2006)

Almost as soon as Ein brings Fia to safety, a new threat arises. Ein puts his new powers to the test against this threat. How does he fare?


	8. The Wings Reborn

Getting the tooth (yes, tooth, as in one tooth) pulled out wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but rather it's the aftermath that's the killer. Here's my record: the gums bled for four hours straight, and after that they bled on/off. Usually the on-bleeding phase is about 30 seconds, and the off phase is several minutes. The numbness wore off about three hours after finishing, so about four hours after they stick the needle in. When they pull the tooth, you can actually feel it, and the pain can vary depending on your state. Eating is actually not so bad, but I have to avoid chewing with the right side, so right now the left side of my mouth is all sore XD. And, surprisingly, my cheek didn't swell up…

Anyway, I find it strange that people have been telling me such horror stories about wisdom teeth. Maybe it's just because I only had one pulled. I dunno if this advice will be good, but I'll put some pointers. Stay relaxed through the operation, be sure to floss often, don't bother the area too much (i.e. rub it, play with it with your tongue, etc), and probably sleep with your mouth closed. I'm not sure about the last part, but I have a feeling that it keeps bacteria from entering… Um, what else? Oh, it's a good idea to brush your teeth, even after the operation. Just avoid going too close to where the tooth used to be. It's also a good idea to take some pain relief tablets before going to bed if it hurts. The dentist should have some Advil if you don't have any. Now, I'm bending the rules a bit with this blip of info, so I better stop now.

Welcome to chapter 8 of The White Wings! Ein puts his new abilities to the test in this chapter, and he is kinda compared to his friends.

Cierra may break your heart during this fight… read on and you'll see what I mean XD

See chapter 1 for the ever-present disclaimer, and enjoy chapter 8!

--

"Hey, Ritz!"

Ein carried a still-naked Fia out from the magic circle cave at Crystal Caverns and greeted Ritz.

"Hey, so you found her!" Ritz exclaimed. Then, he got a closer look. "Why the heck is she naked?" he asked, looking unamused.

"Uh, it's a long story," Ein replied uneasily. "Anyway, you don't need to look anymore, obviously. Thanks for helping though."

"Oookay. No problem." As Ein left, Ritz smirked at him. _Naked… what the heck were they doing back there? I thought I heard voices, but I thought it was just my imagination…_

Ritz suddenly looked back out at Ein. _Since when did he have wings? Much less white ones? And glowing white wings?_ He shook his head. _Am I hallucinating again? I sure hope not… that'll be the end of me yet…_

Ritz hurried deeper into the cavern into the Magic Guild and reported what he'd seen to Claude. As he explained, Soala came out of the far back room.

"White glowing wings?" Claude asked. "That's… peculiar…"

"I don't think I was hallucinating this time," Ritz protested. "He's just taking Fia home right now. You can see for yourself when you next see him!"

"Did you say white glowing wings?" Soala asked. "Now that I have to see. Glowing wings should be a source of a huge amount of magical power."

"That may be true," Claude confirmed thoughtfully. "But do you really think you can convince him to stay here and provide magic power to everyone? He is Riviera's new guardian, after all…"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Soala's head drooped down. "And if we eat up his magic, how can he protect us?"

"I don't know anything about magic, so you two can go ahead and talk while I get back to work," Ritz announced.

"All right," Claude said. "See you later."

"Aye!"

"Still, I wonder how he got his wings back…" Soala pondered. "Since he gave up his wings for his diviner, is it safe to say his diviner's gone?"

"I seriously doubt that," Claude countered thoughtfully. "His wings used to be black, like Ledah's. If he got his original wings back, wouldn't they be black?"

"And yet, something's amiss…"

"But then again, his diviner was a holy one," Claude added. "Maybe that's why his wings are white?"

"Well, we could always ask him later," Soala suggested. "Let's stop this useless conversation of guesswork."

"Yeah, you're right," Claude agreed. "Okay, back to work!"

---

In order to avoid as many people as he could, Ein took to the skies, still carrying Fia in his arms, holding her close in order to keep her warm. As he flew, trails of white sparkles danced behind his wings, attracting an airborne Serene to him.

"Hey, Ein!"

Ein paused in midair and turned to see Serene flying up to him. "Yeah, I found her," Ein called. "Call the search off!"

"Hold on, Ein," Serene held up a hand. "Why the heck is she naked? Are you being a perv again? And what's with the wings?"

"Ah, no, no," Ein shook his head. "It's quite a long story. I can explain to everyone during dinner tonight."

"Um, I want answers now… hey, get back here!" Ein flew off, and Serene followed in pursuit. "Hey! You know you're rude sometimes!"

"Have you noticed her condition?" Ein countered. "Look, she's completely exhausted! We need to get back to the house so she can rest!"

"O-oh…" Serene calmed down. "S-sorry, Ein…"

"It's all right, just so long as you understand."

Lina was there to greet them when they landed in front of Fia and Lina's house. "Hey, Fia's totally naked! Ein, you perv!" Lina diverted her attention from Fia to Ein and gasped. "White wings! Wow, they're so pretty!" She giggled as she poked at Ein's new wings.

"Lina, stop that," Serene warned. "Fia's tired."

"Uh, okay," Lina said with a small hint of disappointment in her voice.

Lina and Serene followed Ein into the house, where Ledah and Rose were waiting.

"Don't ask, it's a long story," Ein began before they could ask anything. "Come up to Fia's room with me, and I'll explain."

Ledah nodded, and Rose looked up at Ledah and nodded too.

After putting some clothes on Fia with some help from Serene as Lina stood by to watch Ein carefully, Ein tucked her into her bed and began his explanation, sitting on the edge of her bed. His wings folded beside him, and where they hit the bed the turned outwards. He told them everything about Andreia and the tests.

"Wow, sounds like a lot to absorb in a day, much less an hour," Rose remarked. "Light Angel… I've heard that somewhere before, I think…"

"Andreia said that Light Angels are a level higher than Grim Angels," Ein provided. "Only Grim Angels with pure hearts can become Light Angels."

"That's so cool!" Lina exclaimed, proceeding to poke at Ein's wings again. "These feathers are so soft!"

"She also gave me this," Ein began, pulling out his Angel Blade. "Oracion, it's called, the sword of justice and freedom."

"Oracion, huh," Ledah commented. "It sure feels powerful, like it could defeat me many times over with one blow."

"Defeat you?" Rose laughed. "Are you sure?"

"This power I feel coming from that blade is no ordinary power," Ledah explained. "There's an infinite amount of power packed into that one blade, and Ein is the only one able to unlock that power."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Serene said. "Hold on. You're saying that with this power that Ein can unlock, he can beat up practically anyone?"

"Andreia also said that the execution skill I can perform with this can defeat Seth-Rah with one blow, provided it's at full power," Ein added. "I need practice before I can perform such an attack, but my previous overskill is now just a regular attack."

"What did you say?" Rose gasped. "Disaresta? That insanely powerful attack that finished off Malice?"

"Yeah," Ein replied. "This weapon provides a massive amount of power to its wielder, which is me."

"Well, it sure suits you, since you're the new guardian of Riviera," Serene remarked. "Geez, man, it's like you could destroy Riviera with that kind of power."

"I wouldn't do that," Ein protested. "I risked my life to save this land, and now I'll protect it."

"Just what I expected to hear," Ledah commented. "I'll fight by your side, though now with that power I might not be much help anymore."

"Lina will help too!" Lina chirped, returning to the group sitting around Fia.

"Me too, of course," Serene joined in. "Let's all work together to protect this land."

"Emergency! Emergency!"

The voice came from downstairs. Claude had entered the house and was calling them. "There's this huge beast attacking the village!"

"A demon?" Ein wondered. "That can't be. All the demons disappeared with the sealing of the Accursed…"

"I don't see what else it can be," Ledah put in. "Come on, let's go."

Claude led the group of five to the town gates. Ladie and Cierra were in a desperate battle against the beast, which was about two stories tall and covered a radius of about five meters. Its head was shaped like a bear's, and its body was covered with a thick black fur. It had four limbs but stood on two, and its forelimbs were the size of logs. The body was simply a large, black, furry wall that covered a huge area. With a swing, the beast knocked out Cierra, while Ladie managed to partially dodge, getting hit on the leg.

"What the heck is that thing?" Serene exclaimed.

"Tch. It doesn't matter," Ledah said. "Death to all sinners."

Ledah rushed in to guard Ladie. "Get back!" he shouted at her. Ladie retreated back to the village gates.

"Come on, let's go," Lina cried. She pulled her bow out and loaded it with an arrow. "Ready, Serene?"

"Ready when you are," Serene replied. Lina let the arrow loose, and Serene took flight with Lina on her shoulder, pulling out her scythe with her opposite hand.

"Ein, what are you waiting for?" Rose asked.

"Huh? Oh, right," Ein said. "Sorry, I spaced out for a second."

"Man, get your act together," Rose chided him with a clean smack across the face. "You need to be alert as Riviera's guardian now."

"Yeah, I know," Ein replied as he took flight too, pulling Oracion out.

Rose looked up after him. _That kid is both grown up and unready at the same time…_ she thought.

At the battle scene, Lina let loose another arrow, which lodged itself in the beast's arm. Letting out a howl, the beast swung its arm out at Lina and Serene, who managed to dodge.

"I don't know if I can get close to him," Serene said. "How can we do this?"

"Keep firing arrows, then," Lina replied. "It might not do much, but it keeps his attention on us." She let loose another arrow.

"I don't know about this… let's see what Ledah's doing…"

On the other side of the beast, Ledah glowed a bright red aura, and charged at the beast, ducking under its arm and striking several times to its side. Letting out another howl, the beast slammed its arm into its side, but Ledah managed to get out.

"Does this even hurt him?" Ledah thought aloud. "This seems almost impossible…"

He looked around and saw Serene and Lina some distance away, flinging arrow after arrow at the beast. The beast turned its attention away from Ledah and tried to swat them out of the air, but Serene managed to dodge all of them while swinging her scythe at an arm.

"Okay, here we go. Burn in the flames of judgment! Crimson Courrages!"

Ledah flared up, and his aura burned even more brightly. His wings absorbed the aura as he flew directly at the beast, flaring up Lorelei. The diviner glowed a bright red as he slashed at the arm, using his wings as secondary weapons. He flashed across the arm several times, attacking all-out. After a moment, he withdrew to a safe distance.

"Not even a scratch," Ledah exclaimed with disbelief, gasping for breath. "What's this guy made of!"

"Ledah!"

Ledah turned to see Ein flying up towards him. "Ein! So you finally decided to help."

"Yeah, let me handle this," Ein reassured him. "Let's test the might of the Angel Blade!"

"All right, I'll circle around to Serene and Lina to back them up."

"Gotcha. Here I go! Oracion, awaken!"

Oracion began to glow with a bright light, which flowed into Ein's wings and body, filling him with great speeds and power. The light also entered Ledah, and his body seemed to become lighter.

"What's this? I feel faster and stronger…" Ledah said. "Huh? Where did he go?"

Ein was off attacking the beast already. "What? What's with that insane speed? I didn't even see him go!" Ledah flew off to Serene and Lina's side, and he seemed to move much faster than before too. "That's remarkable power."

"This is the will of the Gods! Disaresta!"

Ein slashed the beast's arm several times, drawing blood with every slash. With the final slash, he completely slashed the arm off. Screaming with pain, the beast backed away a couple meters.

"I'm not done with you yet!" Ein slashed the air several times, and blades of light emerged from the tip to hit the beast's other arm. "Angelic Power! Come purge my enemy's sins! Angel Burst!

Ein channeled power from the light that he absorbed at the beginning of the fight. Reproducing the power, he focused the power into a huge ball of energy half his height. He then released the ball, which glowed as it flew through the air and cut cleanly through the other arm and continued to wreak havoc on the rest of the body.

"Whoa, he's powerful," Serene gasped in amazement from a small distance away. "Come on, let's get away! We don't want to be in the way!" She pulled Ledah with her and flew as fast as she could while carrying Lina on her shoulder.

"Now to finish this… Light Dragon of the White Night! Purge my opponent of its sins! Atropos!" Ein cried. He shone a bright white light, and his body purged with power. The light pulsed through Oracion, and made the sword grow several times longer. Now twice Ein's height, the light's power coursing through his body and wings allowed him to move at speeds close to the speed of light, and he came down flashing across the beast's body and head several times a second for five seconds, each flash with the power of Disaresta, before speeding high into the air above the beast and raising his sword to the sky. The sword summoned a huge blast of light that took the form of a huge dragon, shining a bright white light, about ten times the size of Ein, which emerged from the clouds and pointed down with its head right at the beast. With a swing of Ein's oversized sword, it flew downward right at the beast, cutting straight through. After going through the beast, the dragon was absorbed into the ground and dispersed.

The beast split clean in half and each half fell to its respective side with a resounding crash that fell every tree within a 2-meter distance from the impact, destroying nearly 50 trees. The halves of the body turned to stone, and little by little, the outer layers turned to light particles and disappeared into the air like shining water droplets.

"This is the duty of the Light Angels…" Ein's voice trailed off as he sheathed Oracion. The glow disappeared, and out of exhaustion and the sudden absence of energy, he started to fall down towards Riviera's soil.

--

A/N: Don't worry, he's not dead. There would be no story with no Ein. However, this opponent was powerful enough to exhaust him, and so you see the results.

There needs to be more tension in my fight scenes, and maybe they should be a bit longer… A common tactic that many manga artists and story authors use is to make it look like the main character is losing. Maybe I should try that XD.

On the next chapter of The White Wings…

Chapter 9: Fia Awakens (Release on August 6, 2006)

The title says it all. Everyone has a chat about the battle that Fia missed while Ein sleeps. Don't get disappointed though!


	9. Fia Awakens

I can't believe how fast the gums heal after having a tooth pulled out… I mean, it hasn't even been a week yet, but it was already fine by Friday. But, in comes another tooth, and hopefully this one won't need pulling…

Anyway, I've had some people criticize Ein's godlike powers in the previous chapter. I've no right to argue, because different people have different interests. I will tone down the "godliness" a bit though, so thanks for the criticism. It's very much appreciated, surprisingly.

I should have mentioned this in the previous chapter's A/N, but I forgot to. I got the name Oracion from the game called Tactics Ogre for GBA – it's the most powerful holy sword in the game (and the heaviest). Atropos also happens to be a name I got from that game as well; turns out Atropos is a mythological figure (though I'm not sure which mythology). Search it on Wiki for more info, though you might have a harder time finding Oracion. I'm not sure if I'll be using Clotho or Lachesis yet, but keep an eye out for them.

Now, welcome to chapter 9. This chapter is almost a return to the boringness of the first two chapters, and admittedly it's almost like filler… but it's a nice way to cool down after the fight scene in chapter 8 (which wasn't all _that_ intense, actually…). Any hints of LxE are completely unintentional and should be very subtle. See chapter 1 for that stupid disclaimer (who started that anyway? It's not even in the rules…), and enjoy chapter 9!

--

"Ein!"

Serene's cry could be heard some distance away. Ledah saw Ein falling to the ground and quickly flew after him. He caught him just before he hit a tree that survived the beast's fall. Oracion was still strongly clutched in Ein's hand.

"Get a grip, Ein," Ledah scolded. Ein's eyes opened halfway, slowly, and he looked up at Ledah. "Come on, I'm gonna take you home."

"Thanks, Ledah…" Ein said weakly. "Was… that… the power of Oracion? Such power…"

"Yeah, we can talk about that later," Ledah reassured him. "For now, we're going home."

"Mm." Ein closed his eyes and relaxed as Ledah carried him towards Fia and Lina's house.

"How is he?" Serene asked as she caught up, still carrying Lina. "Wow, he looks exhausted. That must have been really draining."

"Yes, I suppose so," Ledah replied.

"Being carried through the air is fun!" Lina squealed. "Ah, the scenery's so pretty!" She suddenly looked back at the beast that Ein had slain. "Except for that place, ugh, that stupid thing killed all the trees!" She shivered.

"It's not fun when you're the one carrying someone," Serene gave Lina a sideways glance. "It's harder than you seem to think."

"It's not that big of a problem," Ledah put in, "but maybe it's just the strength of our wings?"

"Could be," Serene agreed. "These wings aren't meant to carry two sprites, but I guess they come through when they're needed. Yours, on the other hand…"

"Well, we're here." Ledah pointed down at the house, and began his descent. They landed lightly in front of the house. Cierra and Ladie, who were at the fight before they got there, were nowhere to be seen. Fia was also still inside, probably still resting. Lina got off Serene and opened the door, and Ledah carried Ein inside. He set Ein down on the couch and began boiling water.

"What's Ledah doing?" Lina asked, running into the kitchen.

"Boiling water," Ledah explained. "Tea might help."

"Yeah, probably," Serene said, entering the kitchen. "Say, I wonder if one of Fia's potions might help him recover?"

"Well he's not wounded," Ledah pointed out. "He's just exhausted. Potions only serve to heal wounds."

"Oh yeah, good point," Serene said, and Lina ran out of the kitchen. "Where are you going?"

"Lina's going to go play!" Lina chirped happily.

"Okay, be careful." Serene went upstairs to check on Fia.

"Ah, is anyone home yet?" someone called from outside the house. Ledah recognized Rose's voice and went to open the door.

"Ah, Ledah," Rose said. "I was watching that battle."

"Mm." Ledah motioned to the house's interior, and Rose walked in, taking her shoes off. "Did you see where Cierra and Ladie went?"

"Yeah, they went off to Elder Graham's house for medical treatment," Rose replied. "They seem to be pretty wounded, but they'll survive."

"If you say so," Ledah said, taking the tea set out and rinsing it out.

"Say, Ledah, when did you learn to do that?" Rose asked.

"Tea?" Ledah said. Rose nodded. "Well, I used to make tea all the time in Asgard. It's pretty easy."

"Asgard… don't you miss that place sometimes?" Rose asked, sitting down at the table. "I mean, you came from there, and your duty lies there too." Rose examined the picture that Serene looked at when she came earlier.

"Uh, yeah, but my duty lies with the will of the Gods," Ledah replied, looking down a little. "I'll be Ein's ally from now on. We're friends, after all."

"Well, Asgard is the realm of the Gods." Rose put the picture down and went to stand beside Ledah. "Doesn't your duty lie there then?"

"You sound like you want me to leave," Ledah commented. "You do have a point, but the Gods are gone. Ein… I can count on Ein. His heart stays true." He looked down at her. "Am I wrong?"

"Ah, no!" Rose waved her hands in front of herself. "Of course not! You should be following Ein's will! He reflects the will of the Gods the most." She turned away and looked down. "And I don't want you to leave… never, ever… please never leave me…" She sniffed.

"I won't be leaving anytime soon," Ledah assured her, putting small amounts of tea into the pot. "I don't really want to return to Asgard." He filled the teapot with hot water and stopped the stove.

"Huh? Really?" Rose turned back to him. "Th-thanks, Ledah." She helped him bring the cups to the table and sat down. "It's a promise, right? You promise to never leave?"

"Um, yeah, promise," Ledah agreed half-heartedly, looking out the window. Rose noticed his weak resolve but stayed silent. She watched as Ledah poured the tea. "Here."

"Thanks," Rose said and accepted the cup. As she sipped, she saw Serene coming back down the stairs.

"How is she?" Rose asked as Serene entered the dining room and sat down.

"Still a bit tired, and she's still sleeping," Serene replied. She thanked Ledah for the tea and sipped from her cup. "I think she'll awaken soon."

"That's good to hear," Ledah said.

Serene raised an eyebrow. "You know, a Ledah with emotions still feels a bit strange."

"I'm getting used to it." Ledah picked up the teapot and a cup. "Come on, let's check on Ein." He headed for the living room, followed by the two girls.

"He's still sleeping," Serene said, ruffling his hair. "Still totally out from that fight."

"Figures," Rose put in. "It all happened so fast to him. On the same day he received his wings and his new weapon, he has to use them to fight."

"That's true," Ledah added. "He's had no experience yet with it, but what a display of power."

"That Oracion is something, isn't it?" Serene pointed at the white, still softly glowing sword that stayed in Ein's clutch. "I bet just touching it can paralyze you if he intends to hurt you."

"How fearsome." Rose shuddered. "At least we're his friends. We don't need to worry about that."

"As long as he doesn't become swayed by that power," Ledah pointed out. "Power accompanies responsibility; if you cannot accept the responsibility, you will become hateful and dark, and ultimately die in the end."

"I suppose so," Serene agreed. "If he can't handle it, he'll become completely consumed, right?"

"That's right," Ledah confirmed darkly.

"But, Ein's a strong guy," Rose protested. "He won't become corrupted. We should believe in him."

"Yeah," Serene added. "Hope goes a long way. We defeated Hector and Seth-Rah with our hopes for a brighter, peaceful future."

"That may be so…" Ledah's voice trailed off, lost in thought.

"Ever wonder what he's thinking?" Serene asked Rose.

"Hardly ever," Rose answered. "But sometimes I get curious." She giggled. "Like now."

Serene laughed. "I don't think he's perverted like Ein, do you?"

"Ah, no way," Rose defended him. "He's Ledah, after all."

"Mm, what are we talking about?"

Serene and Rose turned towards the source of the voice and saw Fia coming down the stairs.

"Ah, Fia, you're awake!" Serene exclaimed. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine now," Fia said. "Really, I'm all right." She helped herself to some tea, which Ledah had set down on the table. "Ledah, you brewed this?"

"Yeah," Ledah said. "It's good tea."

"I'm glad," Fia said, sitting down. "I grew this tea." She suddenly noticed Ein sleeping on the couch and jumped up. "Ah, Ein! What happened?"

"Settle down, he's fine," Serene assured her. "He's just tired. He had a big fight today."

"Really?" Fia sat back down in relief. "What a relief." She sipped her tea. "So what happened?"

The three of them explained to her what had happened with the beast in the village's outskirts and everything that had happened after her return.

"Oh, my," Fia held her hand to her mouth. She looked down at her clothes. "How did you get this on me? Last thing I remember, I was completely naked."

"Oh, uh," Serene started, blushing slightly. "Ein and I did that." Fia turned bright red. "Don't worry, Lina helped me keep an eye on him. I don't think he saw anything."

"I… saw… everything…" Ein mumbled.

"What?" Everyone froze.

"Yeah, you know what I'm talking about, brat," Ein murmured. "Give it back right now…" Ein turned back to the couch and mumbled some more. "Mmbmmmbmmb."

"He's just talking in his sleep," Serene giggled. "Geez, he gave me a scare there."

"I wonder what he's dreaming about?" Fia asked playfully. "Doesn't sound perverted, but with Ein you never know." She gave Serene a wink, and she grinned back.

"Anyway, you've been out since Ein carried you back," Ledah interrupted. "You've missed quite a lot."

"Yeah, you have," Rose agreed. "That was some fight you should have seen."

"I wish I could have." Fia clasped her hands together. "Ah, you embellish it too much."

"Embellish?" Rose asked.

"Decorate, to make it sound better, fancier, or more exciting," Ledah explained.

"Oh, okay," Rose said. "Thanks. Some writer I am…"

"Hey, don't worry about that," Fia told her. "There's plenty of vocabulary I have yet to learn too."

"I guess you're right." Rose sipped some tea. "But really, you should have seen what happened. His last attack split the beast clean in half, and each half destroyed every tree within two meters from the impact."

"That's huge!" Fia gasped. "How was he able to do that?" She turned to look at Ein, still sleeping facing the couch's backrest, his back to them. His wings were folded behind him, still emitting a soft glow. "That weapon…" She indicated Oracion. "That weapon is truly powerful if he can pull off something like that."

"That it is," Serene agreed. "He's a full-fledged Light Angel now."

"He's one level above me, and yet his power is more than ten times mine," Ledah added. "That's one heck of a jump in power for one level."

"I think you have a lot of power locked away too," Fia assured him. "You just have to open up, and your powers will come to you. Maybe you can even become a Light Angel too!" She sipped some tea and refilled the cups. "

"Yeah! The crimson Light Angel!" Serene exclaimed. "I love it!"

"Wouldn't that be the Red Angel?" Rose giggled. "Well, it would still be cool!"

"You're all fantasizing," Ledah murmured, sipping his tea with his eyes closed. "I have a long way to go before that happens."

"We'll see." Rose winked at him. "It might not be as far away as you think."

"Well, anyway, who's up for a walk?" Ledah suggested, suddenly changing the subject.

"Yeah, come on, let's go," Serene said, pushing Rose towards the door. Ledah followed silently, and Fia stayed behind.

"You're not coming, Fia?" Serene called.

"No, I'll stay with Ein," Fia replied.

"Okay then! We're off!" Rose called, and the three left the house, leaving only Ein and Fia inside.

--

A/N: Well, that's that. Enough of the boring stuff for now XD. Not much to say about this chapter, so if you don't have anything to say for a review, you don't need to do it (though I'm sure a certain someone would have something to say for every third line or so… you know who you are ;D)

On the next chapter of The White Wings…

Chapter 10: A Visit from the Former Guardian (Release on August 10, 2006)

Title says it all again. Ursula pays a visit to Ein in his dreams to warn him of his new nemesis. The identity of the voice in Ein's head is finally revealed. And hey, what a nice sunset! Can Fia finally confess her feelings for Ein?


	10. A Visit from the Former Guardian

How would you describe Riviera's graphics? I'd say they kinda remind me of the graphics of Breath of Fire, in which the battles never have any actual visual contact; the sprite swings a sword, and the enemy gets hit, even if he's 10 sword lengths away. But then, there are those CG cutscenes which make Riviera different from Breath of Fire. I think the sprite graphics are pretty boring, but the CG shots are especially good…

Now, here is chapter 10 of The White Wings, where many questions will be answered, including the identity of Ein's new enemy, and the identity of the mysterious voice in his head that was introduced in chapter 7.

See chapter 1 for the disclaimer, and enjoy!

--

"No! LEDAH!"

"Ein, you must survive… I'm just happy to be able to see you again… Please, don't worry about me… Take care of… her… for me…"

"Ah, Ledah! Don't die! You can't die on me again! I won't lose you a second time!"

"It's too late for me, Ein… farewell… guardian of Riviera."

Ledah turned to dust in his arms and blew away. Ein, on his knees, was crying, and the tears blew along with the dust.

"Ledah… why? Again?" He grabbed at the dust that was continually blowing away. "You left me… again!"

_Take care of her for me…_

"Take care of who? You left me completely in the dark!" Ein screamed towards the pitch-black sky. "How can I be a guardian? I need your help!"

"Ein, what's wrong?"

Ein turned to see Fia making her way towards him. "Fia? What…?"

"I heard you scream and came over," Fia explained. "What's wrong?"

"Uh, Fia?" Ein looked more closely. Fia's image was slightly distorted. "Fia, what's going on?"

"Nothing's wrong, Ein," she replied, while her face twisted. "You must be hallucinating."

Suddenly, Fia's face transformed into a wolf's, and out of her body grew dark fur. "Nothing's wrong…"

"Ah! What's going on!" Ein yelled. "You… who are you!"

"You don't recognize me?" the wolf asked. "Well, of course not, because you've killed so many of us in the past." The wolf spat. "I'm here for revenge, kid. That red guy's gone, and so is this worthless girl with green hair, and guess who's next?"

"Argh!"

Ein jolted awake in a light blue room that had lines glowing a soft white light.

"A… a nightmare?" Ein looked around at his surroundings. The floor didn't seem to be there, but he was being held up by something. The blue swirled under him, mixing with many shades and tints of blue and small blotches of white. "Where am I?" He was completely surrounded by the blue color. Every way he looked, it was just blue.

A light appeared out of nowhere, taking the shape of a fairy. The fairy materialized, and came to dance around him, wearing absolutely nothing.

"Huh? A fairy?"

"Yup," the fairy replied. "And you're Ein, right?"

"Huh? How do you know?"

"Because you're here. Only the guardian is allowed in this sacred place."

"Um, you're a guardian?"

The fairy gulped. "Um, no..." She looked away and quickly changed the subject. "So anyway, there's a message for you."

"Message?" He found it easy to not stare at the naked fairy, but looked at her curiously. "What kind of message?"

"Just a second. I need to report." The fairy disappeared with a flash of light, leaving Ein alone in the strange room again.

While waiting, Ein decided to look around. He poked the wall, and it felt solid, but yet there was nothing there. He couldn't feel the swirling blue material behind. It looked simply like energy. He set his hand on the floor, but got the same effect.

"I can't tell where this room ends by just looking at it…" Ein thought aloud. "What's it made of? How do you get out?"

Suddenly, another blinding flash of light appeared and materialized into a woman. Her long blue hair twirled around her, and a light blue pattern covered parts of her body. She was wrapped in long white ribbons.

"Ursula?" Ein asked curiously. "But, how?"

"I can speak to the guardian of Riviera from the afterlife via telepathy, but only through this room, which is within an alternate dimension," Ursula explained. "As you can see, my powers have greatly weakened ever since leaving Riviera."

"Wow," Ein said. "I get it, but why do you need to talk to me?"

"Ein, you have been performing your duties as guardian of Riviera well," Ursula continued. "I see you have also received wings from a Magus. However, Riviera is once again threatened by Asgard."

"What?"

"Another Magus by the name of Orion has taken control of the Grim Angels. He is another selfish Magus, like Hector, but he is much more powerful. His aim is still unknown, but he seems to want to destroy Riviera as Hector did."

"Orion? I'm not sure how he looks like," Ein said. "Does he look like Hector?"

"Somewhat. He is a much more dangerous character than Hector, because of his power and his abilities."

"Abilities?"

"He has the power to create huge beings to attack you. That beast you fought was one of these beings. Fortunately, he can only make one at a time, and it takes him time to recharge after making one, but what's more important is he can transform into any being whose image he has in his memory. That means, if he sees you, he can instantly change into your form," Ursula explained. Ein gasped. "It should not pose a problem right away," she continued, "but I want you to be aware of it when the time comes."

"B-but… how can I tell?" Ein stuttered. "That's such a dangerous enemy, if he can do that."

"It's up to you," Ursula told him. "And in addition, his power is at least tenfold of Hector's, and his magic power is unbelievable."

"Such a powerful enemy? How is that possible?"

"It does not matter, Ein," Ursula reminded him. "Such a being with intent to destroy Riviera cannot be ignored."

"Yeah, you're right," Ein agreed. "But how can I defeat him? My power isn't enough to rival his."

"Ein, you'll understand when you realize your friends are all willing to help you."

"So I have to ask for their help again?"

"The one to decide that is you," Ursula told him. "Follow your heart's judgment, as it will lead you in the right direction."

"Hm, I hope so," Ein mumbled.

"There is one more thing I must tell you. The voice in your head that I'm sure you've heard many times belongs to her."

Another blinding light materialized into yet another form. This one had short blond hair and dressed in a blue Grim Angel's attire.

"Malice!"

"Yeah, that's right," Malice replied. "You might not believe it, but it was me that whole time."

"How does that work?" Ein exclaimed. "You're not the kind to give me that sort of advice!"

"Ein, people change, especially after events like that," Malice reminded him. "Something like that happened… I'd have to really be heartless if I stayed evil. Heck, that sounded pathetic…"

"I suppose so…" Ein remembered what Hector had yelled right after killing Malice along with Fia. _She wasn't a true Grim Angel. _He felt sorry that he couldn't save her.

"Hold you head higher, kid," Malice commanded, pushing his chin up with her hand. "You're the new guardian. If you can't even hold your head up, you're not worthy of the responsibility and the power."

"Y-yeah, I understand," Ein stammered. He raised his head up and looked her in the face. "I'm not afraid."

Malice recognized determination in his face, and didn't see even a trace of fear. "That's right, Ein, that's how you should look." She flicked her hair back and looked at him again. "Ein, Ursula is giving me some of her power in order to communicate with you. You do need guidance at times, but sometimes you might find yourself cut off from that guidance."

"Um, right?"

"I'll help you however I can from the afterlife, but you are the one who needs to solve your own problems," Malice lectured. "Never run away from your problems. Face them and hack your way through. Leaving them alone won't solve a thing."

Ein listened intently as Malice continued. _This really doesn't sound like the old Malice,_ he thought. _She's changed a lot, or maybe she used to be like this?_

"You have to protect Riviera again, but this time it's not against Hector and me. You have a fiercer enemy, but you've showed me your power when you work with your friends." She crossed her arms. "You defeated me and you defeated Hector. By working together with friends, you become much stronger. Don't ever forget that."

"I understand," Ein replied. "I shall save Riviera again."

"Of course you will," Malice said, doing her best not to sound sarcastic. "You're unstoppable, but not just because you're a Light Angel. You're much stronger with friends by your side, and now you have Ledah with you too. If you fail, you're getting a serious whipping from me."

"Um, yeah," Ein said. He noticed that she didn't have Skadi, and remembered that she'd lost it when she died.

"Well, it's about time," Ursula interrupted. "You should be returning soon, and we should be too."

"Well, Ein, looks like my time here is up. I'll do my best to help you, and I will probably see you again soon, but for now, work on defending Riviera."

"I will," Ein reassured her. "You can count on me. I won't let Riviera fall into flames." He looked into her face. "Thanks, Malice, for everything you've done to help me."

"Uh, don't worry about it," Malice stuttered. "We're leaving."

"Lie down and close your eyes, and after a while, you'll return to Riviera," Ursula instructed as she disappeared along with Malice in a flash of light.

"Lie down and close my eyes?" Ein did as she'd instructed. After a couple minutes, he opened them again, and looked up from his position at Fia, who was leaning over him.

"How was your dream?" Fia teased as she poured him some tea. "You were out for quite some time."

He sat up. "What happened?"

"Oh, apparently, you went out cold after defeating the beast," Fia explained. "And now, here you are. Everyone's out for a walk. They left a few minutes ago."

"Oh, I see," Ein said, accepting the cup of tea. "What a beast that was…"

"I heard all about it," Fia told him. "Now, you wanna tell me the story about your wings and your diviner?" She sat down beside him, setting her tea down, and started to massage his shoulders again.

"Ah… thanks, Fia. Well…" Ein explained the whole ordeal with Andreia and how he received his wings and Angel Blade.

"Wow, Ein…" Fia sighed as she continued the massage. "You've been through a lot, haven't you?"

"I suppose I have," Ein agreed, "but everyone's with me, so I'm fine."

"That's good." Her heart beat a little faster for no good reason.

"You know? In my dream, I saw Ursula and Malice," Ein continued. "Ursula told me of a great enemy who's trying to destroy Riviera, and I need to defend Riviera against him. Malice… well she's changed a lot. She gave me advice for being a guardian."

"Ursula and Malice? Another enemy?"

"Yeah." Ein took another sip. "Supposedly, his name is Orion. Looks like we need to prepare to fight again."

"I guess so…" Fia paused the massage. "It would be nice to just live here in peace."

"Yeah, it would." Ein looked out the window. The sun was beginning its descent into the mountains, and the sky was colored a vivid orange in a large radius around the sun.

"The sun's setting," Ein stated.

Fia looked outside. "Want to watch the sunset together?" she asked, turning to him. He nodded.

Sheathing Oracion on his back and setting his tea down, Ein followed Fia outside into the late afternoon. _We shouldn't be attacked for a while,_ he thought. _Ursula said it takes time for Orion to recharge…_

"Ah, it's hard to see from here," Fia complained, breaking his reverie.

"Okay, how about this?" Ein picked up Fia in his arms and carried her upwards. Fia's heart skipped a beat, not expecting the sudden movement, but relaxed after a moment. Ein set her down on a branch above their home and sat down beside her.

"Perfect," Fia exclaimed, smiling. "It's so beautiful…"

"Yeah."

After a few minutes, Fia leaned towards Ein and put her head on his shoulder. After a sideways glance, Ein put an arm around her, and resumed looking at the sky. The sun was red at that moment, burning up the sky in a bright red-orange. The sky overhead became yellow-orange as the sun continued to descend. The sky was mostly clear, and the few clouds were scattered, yellow-orange like the sky.

"I haven't watched a sunset for a while now," Fia said aloud, cuddling into Ein's embrace. "I haven't forgotten how beautiful it is, though."

"Same with me."

"Say, Ein, I've been wanting to tell you for a while now, but I haven't… found a good chance." Fia's face turned pink, and then red. "I, uh…" _Ah, how do I say this…?_

"Yes, Fia?" Ein looked at her curiously, totally oblivious. "Don't worry, you have plenty of time."

"No! I want to do this now! I… I lo-"

"Hey, Ein! Fia!"

Serene's voice drifted from below. Ein looked down to see Serene waving up at them. He waved back. "We're just watching the sunset up here!" he called. "We'll be in later!"

"Okay!" she yelled back. "See you later!" She walked into the house, followed by Rose and Ledah.

"So, uh, Fia? You were saying?"

"Um, I was saying… I-"

"Hey Ein!"

Ein looked down to see Lina waving up at them.

"Hi Lina! The others just went inside!" Ein called down. "We'll be inside soon!"

"Okay!" With that, she went into the house too.

"Ah, sorry, Fia," Ein apologized. "I keep interrupting you."

"No, it's okay…" Fia looked away. "Maybe I can tell you later…"

"Huh? Well, if you say so," Ein said, still totally oblivious. The sun was now a red semicircle on the horizon. The sky glowed a bright red around the sun, and the red faded to pink away from the sun.

Fia looked up at the sky. "It's so nice."

Ein gave her another sideways glance. "Yup."

Fia snuggled in. "Don't leave me, Ein," she whispered. "Stay with me, you have to promise."

"Huh? Um, of course, I promise," Ein stuttered. "Why are you bringing that up again?"

"Just making sure…" Fia's voice trailed off. Ein looked down to see that she'd fallen asleep again.

"Of course I'll never leave you…" he repeated, this time more quietly. "You're more important to me than anything else on Riviera…"

After the sun completely set, Ein slowly slid his arms under her and glided back down, carrying her into the house and back to the bed. After tucking her in, he went back downstairs to join the others.

--

A/N: Poor Fia! Stuck with the most innocent guy ever... He's totally oblivious to everything, eh… Will she ever be able to confess her feelings? That's for me to know and for you to find out! XD

Hope I didn't scare anyone too much with the opening XD. It's always nice to start off with tension; it makes it more interesting. And to be honest, using the dream method of getting out of that kinda situation is a bit cliché, but whatever XD

On the next chapter of The White Wings…

Chapter 11: Confessions (Release on August 13, 2006)

Rose reveals to Serene and Lina that she knows what's going on between the two! As the conversation gets more involved, Rose ends up slipping out about Ledah. And what's this? Ein and Ledah can cook! And Cierra ends up coming to help them out too! Extra-long cooking and chatter chapter!


	11. Confessions

Ack, I'm sick... stupid flu. As of now, I have a killer headache, muscle cramps, and a bad runny nose. Wotta scene, huh? The headache is what's killing me the most... whenever I suddenly move, it's like another knife in the back of the head. Not very pleasing, indeed. I'm not gonna let some stupid disease keep me from updating when I say I will, so rest easy XD. Anyway...

Here we are, chapter 11! I was supposed to say this in the previous chapter, but yay! Double digits! XD

This chapter also marks the fifth week of life that this fanfic has had on Thank you to everyone who's read this far, and thanks even more to those who've reviewed! I really appreciate it. And yay! As of now, I've got 30 reviews up for this!

Okay, I want to get one thing straight… I'm not a cook. I'd advise you to not follow any of the recipes that I've put into motion in this chapter (if you can find the ingredients in the first place). You could die (da-doom!).

I think most of you readers would think that Ledah would be a much better cook than Ein, but whatever. Ein's been helping Fia in the kitchen for a while anyway.

I'm not sure if the title of this chapter fits, but it does focus on the more important part of the chapter. Cooking isn't a major part of the plot, after all XD

See chapter 1 for the disclaimer as usual, and enjoy!

--

"Isn't anyone hungry?"

Ein came walking down the stairs to join the group chatting in the living room.

"Not really, Ein," Serene replied.

"We haven't eaten all day! What's gotten into everyone?" Ein exclaimed. "Come on, I'm hungry…"

"Well, who's gonna cook?" Lina challenged.

"Yeah, Ein, if you wanna cook then go right ahead," Rose goaded. "Not like your cooking's anything special anyway."

"Hmph! We'll see about that!" Ein stormed off to the kitchen.

The girls giggled as he left. "He's so gullible," Serene laughed. "But I guess there's no one else here who can cook…"

Everyone turned to Ledah. "What?" he asked. "Don't look at me like that…"

Lina got straight to the point. "Ledah, can you cook?"

"I, um… well…" Ledah seemed at a loss. "I… well, I guess so…"

"What!" Serene and Rose exclaimed.

"Well… just some basics…" Ledah looked away, embarrassed. "I'm not any good though."

"Anything you make will be good!" Rose clasped her hands together. "Come on! Go help Ein! Leave us girls to talk in peace!"

Ledah shot her a glance before getting up. "Okay, okay, I'll go." He entered the kitchen. "Hey, Ein!" The girls heard his faint call.

"Ledah can cook!" Serene exclaimed right after he'd left, still shocked.

"Apparently so," Rose replied. "Though I've never seen or experienced it, and I sure never expected to."

"Lina didn't either!" Lina chirped. "Lina thought Ledah was just good at fighting!"

"Well anyway, let's put that aside." A hint of a devilish grin came on Rose's face. "So, Serene! Lina! How long have you been dating, hm?"

"What!" Serene's hand flew to her mouth. "How…?"

"Rose! How did you find out?" Lina put her hands on her hips, angry.

Rose laughed and flailed her hands in front of her. "Relax. Only Ledah and I saw you two." She winked. "I didn't see a kiss, but…"

"Eep!" Serene's hands went to her face, covering it as much as she could while still looking through her fingers. Despite that, Rose could see that Serene was blushing deeply. "I… uh…"

"Rose was spying! Rose is a spy!" Lina squeaked. "What did you see? Where were you hiding?"

"Oh I didn't see much," Rose teased. "I got there with Ledah a couple minutes before you flew off. We hid in the bushes near Serene."

"I knew I heard something!" Serene said. "Geez, to think it was you there!"

Rose waved her hands in front of her again. "Don't worry, I have nothing against lesbians, so I'll keep your secret." She winked again. "That is, if you want me to…"

"No! I mean yes!" Serene cried. "And don't blackmail either!"

"Don't worry about that," Rose grinned, waving it off. "You two are quite cute together anyway."

Serene and Lina exchanged glances, then turned away, blushing. "Really?" Lina asked, playing with her pigtails.

"Yup!" Rose's grin became wider.

"Well, the cat's out of the bag, so to speak," Serene remarked. "I guess there's no use hiding it from you." She moved closer to Lina and put an arm around her shoulder. Lina looked up, surprised, then relaxed and lay down across the couch, her head in Serene's lap.

"Ah, I wish I could do that with Le- eep!" Rose blushed and quickly covered her mouth with her hands.

It was too late. "Ahem, Le? Do you mean Ledah by any chance…?" Serene's eyes narrowed evilly, and a grin came on her face. "It must be! Your face is turning red!" She giggled and pointed. "Hee hee, what does it matter? Spill the beans already! It's your turn!"

"Aww, Rose is so cute!" Lina reached over and poked at her face. "Come on, relax! We're all girls here, anyway!"

"Actually, that might be the problem," Rose said. "Oh, I don't know, I wanted to keep it a secret for a little longer, at least. Yeah, it's Ledah…"

"Ooh ooh ooh!" Lina bounced a little in Serene's lap. "How exciting!"

"Ah, it's not really…" Rose tried.

"You're not escaping, Rose," Serene narrowed her eyes. "Tell us all about it!"

"Aack, now you see what I mean…" Rose fidgeted with her fingers. "Well…"

Serene leaned in close, listening intently, not wanting to miss a thing.

"Serene! Mmph!" Lina choked.

Serene quickly got back into sitting position. "Sorry, Lina," she apologized sheepishly. "Anyway, Rose!"

Lina turned in her position to look outwards towards Rose, who was sitting across from them.

"We… uh… sorta had a romantic night together…" Rose began. "We arrived just before you left, at the Grove of Repose."

"Ooh, it's already getting interesting!" Lina giggled in Serene's lap.

"That night, a few minutes after you left, Ledah suddenly got his emotions back from Lorelei," Rose continued. "Then, he told me he loved me, and… we… ah, I don't wanna talk about this anymore!" She smacked herself on the face, which was getting red again. "Why don't you talk about what happened with you?"

"Gee, Rose, giving up?" Serene pressed. "Come on! You what? Did you kiss?"

Rose's cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. "Uh, y-yeah…"

"Ohmygods!" Serene exclaimed. "Ah, that's so cute!"

"R-really?" Rose turned her face down, twiddling her fingers.

"Of course!" Lina agreed. "Come on, don't stop with him just yet!"

"I wasn't planning to," Rose said, looking back up, the blood starting to leave her face. "I hope he's not either." She clasped her hands together again. "Come on, tell me about you two!"

"Serene and Lina kissed too!" Lina exclaimed. Serene blushed. "Um, was that a bit strange?"

"You didn't have to say it like that," Serene poked her in the stomach, and she recoiled.

"Well, at least she's honest," Rose defended.

"Yeah!" Lina jumped at the help. "Anyway, after we left, Serene took me for a flight around Elendia under the stars! It was so pretty!"

Serene blushed even more. "I… yeah…"

"Hee hee, how cute!" Rose giggled. "I wish I could do that."

"You can, easy! Just say you want to!" Lina said. "I'm sure he'll take you on a ride!"

"I… I guess so…" Rose fidgeted. Her face had returned to a simple pink.

"Anyway, don't give up! You two should really be together!" Serene advised, fully recovered.

"Sure…" Rose looked lost in thought. Serene and Lina exchanged glances.

"Meh… I wonder how dinner's looking?" Lina exclaimed, quickly changing the subject. "Come on, let's go see!" She got up to run towards the kitchen.

---

Ein had taken out several vegetables from the storage and was getting the cutlery and cookware ready when Ledah walked in.

"Hey, Ledah, what happened?" Ein asked.

"Oh, they want me to help you cook." Ledah turned away, looking slightly embarrassed. "They said they wanted to talk alone… is that okay with you?"

"Oh yeah, no problem," Ein replied. "I could use some help after all."

Ledah got some applecots out to peel and cut as Ein cut up the vegetables. "You have experience with this, Ein?"

"Well, I can't say I haven't done it before." Ein grinned and looked up at him. "Fia's the kinda girl who gets me to help whenever possible." Finished cutting, he put water in a pot to boil. "So yeah, I've done some cooking before. What about you? I wouldn't expect you to be a cook." He cleaned off the blade he was using to cut and got out some meat.

"Er, I've had to cook once before, but I'm not very good," Ledah confessed. "I…"

"Say, why don't I teach you as much as I can about cooking?" Ein offered.

"I'd appreciate that," Ledah smiled.

"It's been too long since I saw you smile like that," Ein remarked. "Do it more often."

"Maybe I will."

Ledah arranged the applecot pieces onto a plate and moved on to the banangos. Ein put the vegetables in to boil. Finishing quickly with his fruits plate, he moved to watch Ein cook.

"To make this soup taste good, you have to have just the right amount of salt," Ein explained as he moved along. "There also has to be the right combination of the right amounts of ingredients." He went back to the cutting board and chopped up the meat into large chunks. "Meat is vital in a soup's taste," he continued. "Sometimes a small amount of sugar might help, but usually putting too much throws off the taste." He dumped the meat in. "There, now let it cook a while." He returned to the cutting board and got out some carrots.

"You want me to help with anything?" Ledah asked. "You shouldn't try to do everything on your own."

"Haha, look who's talking," Ein teased. "Sure, why don't you… um, cut these carrots? I can move on to the main dishes."

"Alright," Ledah agreed. Ein suddenly stopped him right before he cut through.

"Hold on, Ledah." Ein got out a peeling knife. "You should peel the carrot first."

"Oh, okay," Ledah blushed and put down the cutting knife. "Like this?" He ran the peeling knife along the carrot.

"It's a bit deep," Ein advised. "Try cutting more shallow."

"Oh, okay." Ledah let up a bit on the pressure. "How's that?" he asked as he ran the knife along again.

"Yep, that's perfect. It's also a good idea to peel outwards rather than towards yourself."

"Oh, I knew that," Ledah turned the carrot so it angled away from him, and resumed peeling.

Ein glanced over at him to make sure he was fine before reaching in to grab dragon meat.

"Ah, this stuff is heaven," Ein held the meat up for Ledah to see. "Usually Cierra cooks it, but I can do it too if I have a stove."

"Did someone call my name?"

Ein whirled to see Cierra come in the door. "Ah, Cierra! Good timing!"

"Good evening, Ein, Ledah," Cierra greeted. "Oh my, dragon meat! I can help with that!"

"Thanks, Cierra," Ein said. "Just take it easy with your fire magic, okay?"

Cierra giggled. "No problem."

"So where were you this whole time?" Ledah asked. Done peeling, he set down the peeling knife and picked up the cutting one. "Feeling better?" He began to cut the carrot into small slices.

"Ah, Ledah cares!" Cierra teased as she took over at the cutting board. "I was over at the Magic Guild healing up all day, so now I feel brand new!" She took a butcher's knife and cut the meat into large slices, like steaks. "That was some fight, though. How did it go? I left in the middle so I didn't see what happened."

"It went alright," Ein answered. He checked the soup again and closed the lid. "Turns out I fainted, and just woke up about an hour ago."

"Wow," Cierra commented. "Fighting that huge thing must have taken a lot out of you." She set a frying pan onto the stove and turned it on. "Figures, but how did you do it?"

"My new weapon, Oracion, pulled out my powers," Ein explained. "Seems like it's really powerful."

"That it is," Ledah remarked. He started peeling another carrot. Ein took his carrot slices and dumped them into the soup. "Some of the light hit me, and I felt stronger just from that. All that light went into Ein, and he became so fast I couldn't track his movements at all."

"Too fast for Ledah?" Cierra pondered, putting the meat in the pan to cook. "That's really fast, I'd imagine." The meat began to sizzle, and the aroma drifted upwards and reached all the noses in the kitchen. "Mm, that smells good."

Ein took a sniff. "Yeah! Your cooking is great, Cierra!"

"Really? Thanks!" Ein saw her face turn red, but he thought it was just the heat and ignored it. Cierra added seasoning herbs and spices, and the aroma smelled better and better.

"That should be enough carrots once you're done that one," Ein told Ledah as he moved on to the third carrot. "You're doing great, Ledah."

"Ledah, you cook?" Cierra asked.

"Thanks. Well… I've done it before, but I'm not really good."

"What are you talking about, Ledah?" Ein protested. "You're doing great!"

"It's just carrots…" He finished up cutting the third one and gave it to Ein, who put it in the soup. "What's next?"

"Say, do you know how to make rice, Ledah?" Ein asked.

"Yeah, of course, if I have a rice cooker."

"Yup, here, how about… three cupfuls?" Ein handed Ledah a cooker and a bag of rice. Ledah opened the bag to find a small plastic cup on top of the dried rice.

"Does this cooker run on magic?" Ledah asked.

"Yup," Ein replied. "Just push the button and it works. Same for the fridge." He indicated the fridge behind him.

"Okay, that's good." He put three cupfuls of rice into the bowl and proceeded to wash.

"I feel like I'm not doing much," Ein remarked, watching Cierra fry the steaks and Ledah wash the rice. "Need some help, Cierra?"

"Um, pass the salt, please," Cierra said. Ein handed it to her, and she sprinkled a bit on top.

"Could you get me plates, Ein?" Cierra asked. Ein got some out of the cupboard and handed them to her. "Thanks."

Ledah finished up the rice and set it in the cooker. With a push of the button, the cooker let out a beep.

"That's good, Ledah," Ein told him. "Now, on to some eggs." He pulled out a carton. "Um, fried would be good. Let's do… six eggs." He pulled out six harpy eggs and handed them to Ledah. "Could you scramble them?"

"All at once?" Ledah asked in disbelief. "Isn't that a bit much?"

"No problem," Ein reassured him. Reluctantly, Ledah broke up the eggs and dumped their contents into a bowl and began to stir the mixture of white and yolk.

"Okay, the dragon steaks are done," Cierra reported, displaying the steaks on the six plates.

"Why only six?" Ledah asked. "There are seven of us, right?"

"Fia doesn't eat meat," Ein informed him. "She's a strict vegetarian."

"I see…"

"By the way, where is she?" Cierra asked.

"She's taking a small nap upstairs," Ein replied.

"Oh, we can wake her later. Okay, where are the mushrooms?" Cierra moved towards the storage. Ein showed her a bag, and she pulled the bag out and opened it. "Wow, these look great!" She proceeded to pull out several and put them in a bowl. "Okay, Ledah, Ein, why don't you two wash these?"

"I'm not quite done the eggs yet," Ledah protested.

"Oh, that's okay, I'll wash them," Ein offered.

Cierra gave him a glance. "Are you sure? There's quite a few."

"I'll be fine," Ein replied as he filled the bowl with cold water. "I can do this."

"If you say so." Cierra poured a little oil into the pan and got it simmering. As Ein washed the mushrooms, she cut them into halves and put them into the pan.

"Fried mushrooms?" Ledah asked. "Smells good."

Cierra added some salt and spices into the pan, and soon the aroma filled the kitchen. Ledah finished scrambling the eggs and began to help Ein wash the mushrooms.

"Hey, what's cooking?"

The three of them turned to see Serene, Rose, and Lina in the doorway, sniffing at the air. "Smells good. Mushrooms?" Serene asked.

"Yep," Cierra replied.

"Cierra! When did you get here?" Rose exclaimed. "We didn't see you come in!"

"I got here about half an hour ago," Cierra replied. "Just in time for the cooking."

"Yay!" Lina skipped around the kitchen. "Ooh, applecot slices!" She picked up a piece and stuffed it in her mouth. "Mmschweetschtufferg! Hericanphthwaiththillithsdonth!"

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Serene scolded.

Lina swallowed. "Sweet stuff! I can't wait till it's done!"

"Yeah, let's see how good Ein's cooking is." Serene winked. "I'm gonna take another walk." She turned towards the door.

"Hey, don't be looking for people again," Ein warned.

Serene laughed. "Don't you worry, I haven't seen Malice, nor would I wanna be bringing her here."

"Argh! That brat!" Malice screamed inside Ein's head. "I'll kill her!"

"You can't really do that," Ein said aloud.

"Duh I can't," Serene smacked him on the head. "I haven't even seen her. What's wrong with you?"

"Ah, nothing! I'm sorry!" Ein cried. "Ouch…"

"Well, I'm going," Serene waved, ignoring his pain. "Give us a shout when you finish. Come on, Lina!"

"Alright. I'll stay to help," Rose offered.

"All right," Ein agreed. "See you later, you two!" He got no reply. He looked towards the doorway and saw that they were gone already.

"Geez, how rude," Ein muttered as he returned to washing mushrooms. Rose stood by Ledah, watching his every move.

"Uh, is something wrong?" Ledah asked uncomfortably.

"Oh, nothing's wrong," Rose replied. "I just want to see how good you are." She winked. "The dirt sticks pretty well. You have to scrub it." She picked up a mushroom and showed him.

"Mm, okay."

"Say, Ein, were you teaching him?" Rose asked.

"Yep," he replied. "He catches on pretty fast, don't you think?"

"That he does." Rose went over to the storage and pulled out some celery, asparagus, and broccoli. "We should have more vegetables."

"Okay, I can fry veggies and mushrooms at the same time," Cierra boasted. "Why don't you get carrots too?"

"Oh, right, carrots." Rose pulled out a couple sticks. "Think that's enough?"

"Are you kidding?" Cierra laughed. "That's enough for half a person! Take out… say, 14 carrots!"

"That seems a bit much, but if you say so…" Rose took the bag and dumped out the rest of the carrots. There were only 7 left in the bag.

"So including those two in your hand there, 9 carrots… that's okay." Cierra handed her the knives Ledah was using. "Here, peel and cut, please."

Cierra resumed the frying pan as Rose worked on the carrots. "Say, Ein, what do you think of Fia?" she asked absentmindedly as she poked at the mushrooms in the pan.

Ein jerked his head up. "What?"

"I wasn't really expecting such a reaction," Cierra grinned. "Come on, what do you think?"

"What do I think?" Ein shifted his weight and passed Cierra another mushroom. "Um, she's…"

Rose's ears perked up and she leaned in, listening intently.

"She's… a nice girl?" Ein stammered. His face showed a hint of red.

Rose smacked him on the back of the head, and his head dunked into the bowl of water and mushrooms from the force. "That's not what she meant," she informed him sweetly.

Ein slowly pulled his head back out of the water. "Not my head again… what did you say?"

"That's not what I meant," Cierra jumped in, forming a temporary truce. "You like her?" She motioned to Rose to calm down.

"Um, yeah," Ein said slowly. "Who wouldn't?"

"Darn it, Ein!" Rose swiftly smacked him on the head again. This time, Ein endured it.

"W-what?"

"Stop joking around!"

"I'm not joking around…"

"Okay, okay, there, there, you two," Cierra soothed Rose, who calmed down a little. "Don't fight in the kitchen, okay? There's food everywhere."

"I wasn't fighting, I was getting beat up," Ein protested.

"Beat up? As if." Rose smiled sweetly. "Now come on, answer properly."

"I'm not sure what you want me to say." Ein scratched his head. "I… well yeah, I like her." He blushed a little.

"That's closer," Rose leaned in more. "Come on, what else?"

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, leave the guy alone," Ledah interrupted. He finished up the last of the mushrooms and began to wash the vegetables. "He doesn't want to talk about it."

Ein's head was spinning. _Do I like her? I don't even know… but I think of her differently than other girls… what does it mean?_

"Ein, don't you even know your own feelings?" Cierra asked. She turned to Ledah. "That's good enough, Ledah, now cut it like this…" She put her attention back at Ein. "Well, I'm not gonna force you to talk about it. Like Ledah said, you don't seem to want to talk about her."

"Talk about who? Me?"

Everyone froze at the sound of the voice. Everyone slowly turned to see Fia walk into the kitchen, looking completely innocent with a bright smile on her face.

"What's wrong? Stop staring!"

--

A/N: Whew! Longest chapter yet. The chapters seem to be getting longer and longer as the plot continues… well, I'm sure there will be shorter chapters thrown in later on.

How much did Fia hear? You'll have to wait 'til Thursday to find out! XD

On the next chapter of The White Wings…

Chapter 12: A New Scythe (Release on August 17, 2006)

Rose tries to talk her way out of the conversation, but the truce is only temporary. Meanwhile, Lina and Serene go out for a walk, ending up at Serene's house, where Serene has a surprise for Lina! Afterwards, things heat up in bed… ;D Intense yuri, you've been warned!


	12. A New Scythe

Yay, headache was gone on Monday, and the cold disappeared by Tuesday. I'm glad it passed quickly…

How is the name "Ein" supposed to be pronounced? Since I got Fia's ending, I know the game pronounces it EYE-in, and, following logic, so do the producers. It sounds awkward to me, though, so I pronounce it EE-in. I dunno…

It feels almost as if this fic is the lifeline of the Riviera section, huh? Not to brag or anything, but it's pretty much the only one receiving constant updates (though there are a couple that were updated recently). That makes me feel both proud and pressured at the same time…

Here's chapter 12, the anticipated intense yuri chapter! XD I hope I did okay… I'm not too good at fluff, and I often think it's because I'm a perv. I still like romance, though… but I think this chap's more on the pervy side than the romantic side. Don't say I didn't warn you! XD Now, enjoy!

--

Fia walked into the kitchen, looking completely innocent with a bright smile on her face. "Stop staring!" she exclaimed, looking around at the shocked eyes around her.

"Oh, Fia!" Ein quickly recovered. "Uh, we were just talking about-"

"-what to make for dinner!" Rose finished. Ein glanced at her, shocked, but she just put a finger to her lips.

"Oh, I see," Fia said. "Why was it so shocking when I walked in?"

"Uh, um, because we were talking ab-" Cierra started.

"Because we, uh, thought you could help us decide!" Rose said.

"I don't get what's so shocking about that, but alright," Fia said. Rose breathed a sigh of relief.

"Say, Fia, how much did you hear back there?" Cierra asked.

"Oh, I just heard the last sentence." Fia helped the group with the vegetables. "Something about not wanting to talk about someone?"

"Oh, okay, that's good then," Cierra said, and quickly covered her mouth, but it was too late.

"Why is that so good?" Fia pressed. "What were you really talking about?"

"Crap…" Rose said under her breath. "Um, hey, Fia! Help me with these sticks!" She pointed at the asparagus. "I'm pretty bad with these."

"Uh, okay," Fia said suspiciously. "You're not getting away without answering that question, though."

"Question? What question?" Rose giggled uneasily. "You must have been hearing things."

Fia looked hard at Ein, whose head was ducked down in the vegetable basket, scrubbing furiously at a crown of broccoli, face flushed red. Fia watched him for a while, and after a moment, he glanced up at her and quickly looked back down again. Fia hid her smile as she continued her cooking. _He's so cute,_ she thought. _I can ask him later._ She decided to forget about the earlier statement for the time being.

---

Serene and Lina made their way towards Serene's house, which was near the Grove of Repose. They reached a stream, which Serene easily glided across. Lina hopped on some rocks to get over.

"It's already dusk," Serene remarked, looking up at the dark blue sky.

Lina looked up and almost tripped. "Uh huh," she said, catching herself. "The sky doesn't look very clear."

Serene could see clouds scattered over the sky. She suddenly felt something warm in her hand, and looked down to see that Lina had taken it and clasped her fingers between Serene's.

"No, it's a bit cloudy," Serene agreed. "I don't think we'll be able to see the stars and moon tonight."

"Aww," Lina complained, bending down to pick up a rock. "The night sky's so pretty! Lina wants to see it every night." She threw the rock as hard as she could with her free hand, and it landed a few meters down the stream. Her motion threw Serene off-balance, but she used her wings to steady herself.

"Lina, careful," Serene scolded. Lina apologized sheepishly. "Ah, it's okay." Serene eased up, and her voice softened. "I wonder how much longer they'll take to cook?"

"They'll shout when they're done," Lina chirped. "You told them to, after all."

"Yeah." They arrived at the path leading up to Serene's house, which she carved out of a tree near the grove.

"Come on!" Lina pulled Serene along, and Serene let her drag her along. Lina pulled a key out and unlocked the door.

"Huh? Where did you get that key…?" Serene felt around in her pockets, but her key was gone. "Lina… how did you…?"

"Lina's sneaky!" Lina giggled. "Here!" She handed Serene the key and, letting go of Serene's hand, waltzed into the house. Serene shook her head out of amazement and pocketed her key before following Lina into the house.

Lina found matches somewhere and handed them to Serene, who lit a couple candles around the room. The dull glow illuminated the small living room, which had a few couches and chairs scattered around a table. A couple of pictures hung on the wall, but it was too dark to make out what was on it. A flight of stairs on one side of the room led to another floor, and a doorway in the other side led to the kitchen. Several scythes leant against a wall behind a couch.

"Serene, what's on these pictures?" Lina asked curiously.

Serene shook her head. "You'll see when you come here when it's lighter."

Lina's head drooped. "Come on, Serene, why can't you tell me?"

"You'll find out yourself anyway." Serene sat down on a couch and lounged on it, watching Lina explore.

Lina made her way into the kitchen. "Does Serene have any applecots?" she called.

"Of course! They're in the basket in the storage room!"

_It's kinda dark,_ Lina thought. _Storage, storage, storage…_ She suddenly felt an arm wrap around her shoulders. She stifled a scream when she realized it was Serene.

"The storage is here," Serene whispered, guiding Lina's hand to a door. "The applecots are in this basket here." She continued to guide her hand into a basket. Lina grabbed a random object in the basket and pulled her hand out.

"Okay, thanks," Lina said, biting into the applecot. It tasted sweeter than the ones at her own house. "Where did you get these?" she asked. "They're sweet!"

"Secret." Serene winked in the darkness, grinning. "Come here whenever you want more."

"Aw, can't you just tell Lina where to get them, so Lina can get them herself?" Lina protested.

"If I told you, you wouldn't come here anymore," Serene said, ruffling her hair a bit. "Don't worry, there's quite a big supply here."

"Aw, fine." Lina gave up and bit another chunk. "It's so good though!"

"That's good." Serene withdrew her arm from Lina's shoulders and went back to the living room. Lina followed behind her.

"Hey, Serene, what's that scythe there?" Lina pointed at a scythe that lay on the table. It wasn't there when they first came in.

"That's my new scythe, Crescent Darkness," Serene explained. "I've been working on it for a while, and it's very powerful. I just pulled it out from the bunch over there." Serene pointed at the stash of scythes behind the couch before picking up the scythe in one hand and swung it a couple times in the air. Lina felt a cold chill rush by her. "It's much lighter than the other scythes too. Wanna see?"

Lina quickly stuffed the rest of the applecot into her mouth and tossed the core into a nearby waste bin. "Sure!" She took the scythe out of Serene's hand. It felt lighter than most of her bows. "It's really light!" She avoided swinging it around in fear of hitting something by mistake. She ran her hand along the smooth blade's side, and felt etches in the blade. She looked closer and saw that the words "Crescent Darkness" were carved into the dark blue metal.

"You made this?" Lina asked. Serene nodded. "It's amazing!"

"Glad you like it," Serene smiled. "Let's take it outside and see what it can do."

"Okay!" Lina jumped at the chance to test out the scythe, and skipped out the door behind Serene.

"Okay, see that log there?" Serene pointed at a log that lay on the yard. Lina nodded. "Chop it up!"

"Okay!" Lina chirped. She held the scythe in one hand and rushed toward the log. The weight of the scythe barely affected her movements as she spun in midair, slicing straight through the log. The log split in two.

"Hey, it's really good!" Lina called. "How's this?" She unleashed the overskill Darkness Calls. Spinning the scythe in her hand, she cut the log into six pieces. As a finisher, she spun around and sat down with her back to the log. After a couple seconds, a big flash of electrically charged dark energy slashed through the log, reducing it to splinters.

"Not bad, not bad at all!" Serene exclaimed when Lina brought the scythe back to her. "Okay, now it's my turn. I already mastered the overskill. But aw, why did you have to destroy the log?" she complained. "I have to find another one now!"

"Oh, sorry," Lina said sheepishly.

"Meh, it's okay," Serene patted her head. "I'll use a boulder."

"Uh, a boulder?" Lina gasped. "That scythe is powerful enough to cut a boulder?"

"A boulder's just rock." Serene laughed. "It's nothing for such a powerful scythe."

Serene went down the path into a nearby forest. She managed to find a boulder that wasn't destroyed when the beast fell. Lina stayed back ten meters to watch.

Serene swung the scythe in a graceful horizontal arc that sliced right through the boulder. The top half of the boulder slid right off, landing on the right side of the boulder. From her watching spot, Lina gaped.

"So easily?" she exclaimed, dumbfounded. "What a scythe!"

"I'm not done yet." Serene winked at her. "Here's my trump card! Serene Chaos!"

Within a couple seconds, Serene swung the scythe 12 times, slicing through the rock. Before the rock had a chance to split, she swung it one last time. A dark dragon with glowing blue eyes spouted from the blade and wrapped around the boulder. Ice shards surrounded it in a cloud. With an upward thrust of the scythe, the dragon squeezed the boulder, completely shattering it. The dragon then exploded, causing the boulder to explode too, sending rock shards flying in all directions. Serene whipped the scythe around, blocking rock shards. When the explosion subsided, there was nothing left of the boulder but several shards that lay scattered on the ground.

"Ohmygods!" Lina exclaimed, rising from her crouched down position she'd taken to shield herself from the shards. "That's amazing!" She ran up to Serene, who was standing with the scythe draped over her shoulder, almost unscathed except for a couple scratches here and there. "Such a powerful scythe…" The blade was still emitting a dark aura.

Serene grinned. "I shall help Ein protect Riviera with this scythe," she declared. "Crescent Darkness shall be the blade I use to destroy my enemies."

Lina looked up at Serene, amazed. "Maybe I'll show you my new bow sometime," she offered. "I made it myself, like you did."

"A new bow?" Serene asked, surprised. "I'd like to see it, but I don't think I can use it."

"Probably not," Lina agreed. "But it's powerful just like yours." She looked at the blade again. "What kind of metal did you use?"

"Some dark blue stuff that Ritz found in the mine," Serene replied. "It took forever to shape it like this."

Lina gazed at the scythe, mesmerized by its dark aura. "This is the first scythe to have the dark element attached, right?" she asked.

Serene nodded. "Its power flows from some unknown source. Maybe it's the metal?"

"We should ask Cierra," Lina suggested. "It's mysterious."

"Don't let it get to your head." Serene laughed. "I wouldn't want it messing you up."

"Lina's fine!" Lina chirped, jolting up from the scythe. "Come on, we left the door unlocked."

"Oh yeah, we did." Serene followed the jumpy Lina back to the house.

Once back inside, Serene set the scythe back on the table, and Lina decided to explore the bedroom upstairs more. Serene followed her up the stairs.

Serene kept her bedroom simple. There was just a bed, a table with a mirror on it, and a closet. The size restriction set by the tree made her limit the size of the bedroom. A window on the wall gave a view of the surrounding area outside, and another window on the ceiling provided a great view of the sky. Inside, Serene found Lina jumping on the bed.

"Serene's house is boring," Lina complained. "There's nothing to do here!"

"Well, it's a house," Serene protested as she walked in. "What do you expect from a house?"

"There should be stuff to do!" Lina stopped jumping and lay down on the bed, looking through the window in the ceiling. "I remember the view from here last night," she said softly. Serene went to sit down by her. "The sky's so pretty at night when the moon and stars come out…"

"Yeah, it is." Serene got up onto the bed and, on all fours, arched over Lina, who lay under her. She leaned on her hands, which she placed beside Lina's head. Her knees were placed beside Lina's waist. "Just like you," she whispered. She brushed a strand of hair off Lina's face and tucked it behind her ear and, closing her eyes, leaned down and pressed her lips against Lina's. Startled, Lina's eyes widened, but she relaxed after a moment and closed her eyes too. She put her arms onto Serene's back under her arms and wings and relaxed, returning the kiss passionately.

Serene gently broke the kiss, relaxed, and lay down rather than crouched. She lay a bit to the left, so her right leg rested between Lina's legs. She used her left elbow as support beside her, tucking her other arm around Lina's head. Lina hardly moved at all, but her eyes opened halfway to see what Serene was doing. She turned her head to the right a fraction, closed her eyes again, and felt Serene's lips meet hers again.

Unable to resist exploring, Serene slipped her tongue into Lina's mouth. She felt Lina shudder and grow warm. She became warm herself as she moved her tongue around inside. After a moment, she withdrew her tongue and felt Lina's enter her own mouth. A shudder came involuntarily, and she felt her heart beat faster in ecstasy. After a moment, Lina withdrew her tongue and broke the kiss, breathing hard and shallow. Serene found herself doing the same.

"I've never kissed before that time on the cliff," Serene said between breaths, relaxing in Lina's embrace. "And that… was a bit… fun."

"Yeah!" Lina exclaimed. "Same with me, that was my first kiss too." She pulled Serene closer, heart beating like mad. "That felt nice."

"Mm," Serene replied, playing with Lina's hair. Finding the right spot, she kissed Lina on the neck and felt her shudder again.

Lina closed her eyes, a feeling of ecstasy washing over her again. _Serene really knows how to do this,_ she thought. At her neck, Serene continued sucking on the vein, biting gently. Lina didn't feel any pain at all. A smile came onto her face.

Serene gradually stopped her work on the vein. She looked up at Lina's face to see she was smiling. Serene smiled too, and put both her arms around Lina's neck and leaned her head on Lina's chest. Lina tightened her embrace a little, putting both her arms around Serene's back, wishing she could never have to let go.

After a few minutes, Serene's ears suddenly perked up, and she lifted her head.

"Dinner's ready!" a voice called from the distance.

"I guess it's time to go," Serene whispered. "Dinner's ready. Let's go."

"A few more minutes…" Lina pulled Serene down, eyes still closed. "Just a few more minutes."

"Okay." Serene didn't really want to leave either. "But just a few minutes, or they'll worry again."

"Yeah." Lina pressed her lips against Serene's again, and she responded almost naturally. For a few minutes, they were one.

After a moment, Serene reluctantly got up, gently breaking free from Lina's embrace. "Come on, we should be going," she said softly.

Lina opened her eyes. "Okay, let's go." She hopped out of the bed and followed Serene down the stairs. "Let's do this again later."

"Huh?" Serene turned around, surprised. Lina wasn't paying attention and walked right into her. "You want to sleep over again?"

"Yeah," Lina replied after a short pause.

"Well that's okay," Serene said. "As long as there's no problem with the others, which I'm sure there shouldn't be."

"Okay!" Lina squeaked happily and skipped out the door, Serene following close behind, carrying her new scythe and locking the door behind her. Hand in hand, they made their way back to Fia and Lina's house quietly, where dinner was waiting for them.

--

A/N: I don't know what came over me when I was writing the tongue part, so don't ask XD

The pictures on the wall kinda scream "BACKSTORY!" don't they? It'll be a short segment, but I'll be sure to write a little bit on it. The new scythe and bow seem to hint at something, and if you picked it up then you're pretty sharp XD. If you didn't pick it up, don't worry, it's not a big deal (or maybe you just didn't notice that you noticed, because it's a minor thing…)

On the next chapter of The White Wings…

Chapter 13: Discussion (Release on August 20, 2006)

Everyone chats while eating. Ein shares news of his new nemesis, and everyone tries to think of a good way to fight him. Lina, being the hyperactive girl she is, finishes eating quickly and decides to run around the house while they chat.


	13. Discussion

So someone tells me Ein is pronounced EYE-n, which is German for one. Well, I still find it a bit awkward, so I prefer EE-in. Just personal preference, so don't take offense or anything XD

Okay, I'm Canadian so school starts in September, though it probably varies between provinces/states. By the time September rolls around, you could probably expect updates to come weekly instead of twice a week. Don't yell at me, though XD. High school is one hell of a busy life, and I don't expect it to become any easier by the time I reach the university level.

What's up with the doc uploader? I had to retry five times just to get this chapter up... how annoying. Anyway...

Awright, here's chapter 13. This one was written with a slightly lighter and giddy atmosphere (giddy… used to describe atmosphere? I dunno…). Lina's providing most of the comic relief in this chapter, as she is for most of the story XD. Serene has a little to do with it too near the end. Anyhow, enjoy!

--

"We're back!"

Ein, Fia, Rose, Ledah, and Cierra all turned to see Lina walk in, pulling Serene behind her, barely giving her enough time to take her shoes off.

"Lina, wa-wait!" Serene stammered, struggling in Lina's tight grip. Lina suddenly released her hold, and Serene nearly fell down. Barely managing to catch herself with her wings, she got up and glared at Lina's back.

"Hey, you two," Fia greeted. "We were waiting. What were you doing?"

"Yeah, what _were_ you doing?" Rose smirked.

Serene blushed at the question, but Lina covered up for her. "Just testing out Serene's new weapon!" she chirped.

Ein's ears perked up. "Weapon?" he asked curiously.

Serene pulled out the scythe, which she had been hiding behind her back as best she could with her thin figure. "Crescent Darkness," she stated, her face still tinted red. Serene glared at Rose, who was stifling a laugh as best she could.

"Rose, what's so funny?" Cierra asked. She smacked Rose on the head for good measure.

Rose regained her composure. "Oh, nothing. Hey, are you two gonna eat or not?"

"Yeah, why don't we look at the new scythe after eating?" Ein suggested. "I'm really hungry. There's some good dragon steak here."

Fia gave Ein a sideways glance. "There are vegetables too, okay?" She pointed at the bowls of greens in the middle of the table. There was a big salad bowl too. Seven plates were arranged around the rectangular table. "Don't forget to eat your veggies!"

"Looks great!" Serene exclaimed, following Lina to the table. By complete coincidence, Serene ended up facing Lina at the table.

"Thanks for the food!" Lina said, picking up her fork.

Fia looked at her in confusion. "Where did that come from?" she asked. "I've never heard you say that before."

"Oh, I just felt like saying it," Lina said sheepishly. "Come on, let's eat!"

Everyone ignored the incident and began to eat.

"Oh, yeah, I need to talk to you all about something," Ein announced, halfway through his steak.

Ledah looked up. "Huh?"

"Everyone has to hear this," Ein continued. "Riviera has new enemy now."

"What?" everyone chorused.

"Enemy?" Fia managed. She put her fork down.

"Yeah. Ursula contacted me in my dream after the battle." Ein paused to take a bite of steak, and swallowed before continuing. "Another Magus by the name of Orion is apparently planning to destroy Riviera for his own selfish goals."

"Orion?" Rose asked. Fia picked up her fork again to take another bite. Ledah kept eating, and Lina barely paid attention, stuffing her face with food.

"Was he behind that attack earlier today?" Cierra asked, nibbling a carrot.

"Yeah, that's what Ursula said," Ein affirmed. "Orion has the power to summon and control huge beings like that one, and his power is supposed to be about ten times Hector's."

"Ten times!" Serene nearly spewed the food out of her mouth. "Ten times… that power?"

"Serene?" Serene looked up to see Lina staring at her. "Are you okay?"

"Uh, I'm fine, but didn't you hear a thing Ein said?"

"Not really," Lina chirped. She absentmindedly stuffed a stalk of celery into her mouth. "Ish ith importhanth?"

"Lina, listen to what he's saying!" Fia scolded. "Of course it's important!"

"It's okay, really… Uh, anyway, his most powerful ability is that he can transform into anyone whose image he has in his memory," Ein continued, looking hard at Lina.

"What!" Rose shouted, barely refraining from spraying Ledah, who was sitting across from her, with food. "How can we defeat someone like that?"

"Ursula simply said it's up to us," Ein replied. "I'm not sure if we'll be able to do it, but we have to believe."

"Ein's right," Ledah agreed, swallowing a bite. "So is Ursula. Only we can possibly know who is who."

"Yeah, we can't be beaten by some imposter," Fia agreed. "We all know each other well. We should be able to tell."

"But what if we can't?" Serene asked. "He might end up making us kill each other off!"

"How can we beat something like this?" Cierra wondered. "We need a plan of some sort."

"Well, it will take time for him to recharge his power after that last fight," Ein continued. "During that time, we should think up a counterattack."

"Couldn't he might be among us right now?" Lina asked. Everyone froze at the statement. "Uh, what? Say something!"

"I don't know what to say to that," Serene said. "It's possible, isn't it?"

"I don't think so," Ein put in. "He's still recharging. Summoning that beast must have taken a lot of his power."

"That may be so, but let's be more cautious while knowing about that ability," Ledah added. "We better move carefully against this new enemy."

"Yeah," Ein agreed. "One more thing, he's the new commander of the Grim Angels. I don't think Asgard has a Light Angel, but Orion might just decide to promote some of the Grim Angels."

"That might become a problem too," Fia stated. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this."

"We better enjoy the peace while we can," Rose put in. "We're going to be fighting another war very soon, it seems."

"So what does that make us?" Lina exclaimed, nibbling on a carrot. "Riviera's guardians?"

"I guess so," Cierra smiled. "Ein, the Guardian Angel."

Ein blushed. "You don't need to put it like that," he stammered. "I… I'm just another living being here in Riviera. I'll fight to protect it."

"That's our angel," Serene winked. "You have our help and our trust." She spooned some rice into her mouth.

"Agreed!" Fia jumped in. "Ein was our hero before, so he can be our hero again!" She threw her arms around his neck from his side, where she sat, nearly choking him.

"Come on," Ein protested. "I'm not a hero. I have all of you to give credit to."

"I guess so," Cierra said. "But hey, you saved us, even if you didn't do it single-handedly. Give yourself more credit!"

"Uh, right," Ein shifted in his chair, cheeks still bright red. "I… why don't we just eat?"

"Yeah," Ledah added. "That's what we're here for."

The dinner continued quietly for a few minutes as everyone tried to come up with an attack plan. Lina finished first and ran off, leaving her plate and utensils on the table.

"Like I said, still a kid," Serene muttered to herself.

"Okay, I'm done," Ein announced, picking up his plate. He took Lina's plate with him as he walked into the kitchen.

"That was pretty good, Ein," Serene called after him. "You too, Ledah."

"Thanks." Ledah picked up his own plate and utensils and brought them into the kitchen. Fia soon followed. Ein brought a large basket of fruit into the dining room, and Ledah carried a plate of cut fruit.

"Okay, here's dessert," Ein announced, setting the basket on the table. He then looked inside, stunned. Half the applecots were gone. "Where did the applecots go?" he demanded. "Lina!"

"W-what?" Lina crawled out from under the table, mouth full.

"Did you take the applecots?" he asked. "Oh, why am I asking? It's in your mouth!"

Lina swallowed as quickly as she could. "Lina's mouth is empty!" she announced. She opened her mouth and pointed inside. Ein could see small crumbs of applecot.

"Yeah, you took the applecots," Ein mumbled.

Lina's jaw dropped in surprise. "What?"

"Forget it. Just enjoy the fruit!"

"With pleasure!" Lina jumped up and grabbed a handful of applecots and banangos and ran off. Ein looked inside the basket and shook his head. Lina had left only three applecots and two banangos.

"Well, we still have the cut fruit," Ledah said from behind him. Quickly realizing Ledah was still holding the plate, Ein moved out of the way and let Ledah set it down on the table.

"So any ideas about Orion yet?" Ein asked as he sat down. He picked up a piece of applecot and took a bite. "He's one formidable enemy."

"That he is," Rose agreed. She reached for an applecot piece. "Is force good enough to beat him?"

"It might be, if we can keep him from transforming or summoning," Cierra suggested, reaching for a banango from the basket. "Can we seal his magic? He's a Magus. It's gonna be more than a little difficult."

"I see what you're saying," Ledah said thoughtfully. "If we seal his magic, then he can't do a thing."

"I'm sure he can still fight physically," Ein put in. "With ten times Hector's power, it shouldn't be hard, and he has all the Grim Angels on his side too."

"Come to think of it, what lies is he telling them this time?" Rose asked. "'It's the will of the Gods' shouldn't be swaying them anymore."

"No, it's possible," Ein argued. "Even though Hector's defeat is pretty well-known by now, the Grim Angels still operate on the Gods' will."

"That may be so, but shouldn't the angels be more insightful?" Cierra countered. "By now they should realize that not all Magi act on the Gods' will."

"That's true too," Ledah added. "However, you can't assume I'm the only one who gave up his emotions either. Those who give up their emotions will never be able to question their duty."

"What a complicated matter," Rose remarked. "We certainly need more information on Orion." She nibbled on a banango. "Should one of us do some reconnaissance?"

"I don't think so," Ledah argued. "That would be dangerous. What if he kills that person and takes his or her form?"

"Yeah, I guess you have a point there. But, what are we gonna do? We need to find out more about this guy!" Rose protested.

At that moment, Fia walked in, carrying a large plate with six cups and a teapot.

"Ah, tea," Cierra remarked. "We have tea quite a bit lately."

"Well, it's all natural." Fia beamed. "Remember, I grow tea in the garden." She set the plate down on the table next to the fruit basket and proceeded to pour out the cups. "I don't think Lina wants tea," she remarked. "She didn't drink any last time."

"Applecots are enough for her," Serene replied.

"Oh my," Fia said, glancing into the fruit basket. "Did Lina take all the fruit?"

"Yeah," Ein replied sheepishly. "I didn't stop her."

"Well that's okay." Fia handed out the cups of tea, receiving thanks from everyone. "There's plenty more in the garden."

Serene bit an applecot piece. _Yeah, mine are definitely sweeter,_ she thought, remembering what Lina had said back at Serene's house. _They don't know my secret spot. _She hid her grin from the others.

"So, Fia, what do you think of Orion?" Rose asked.

"Ein?" Fia purposely misheard. "He's a nice guy. I like him." She smiled at Ein, and he quickly looked away, blushing.

"Um, Orion," Rose murmured uneasily, sweat trickling down her face. "You know, that evil Magus guy who plans to destroy Riviera."

"Oh, Orion!" Fia chuckled. "Um, I don't know, really."

"We do need a plan of some sort," Ledah added, giving the embarrassed Ein a sideways glance. "How can we defeat him? His powers allow him to infiltrate us."

"We just have to trust ourselves and each other, right?" Fia replied. Everyone turned to her. "We're the best of friends. Our bond can never be broken."

"But I'm kinda new?" Ledah said. "Although Ein and Rose knew me for a long time already, I don't know all of you too well, and the vice versa."

"We'll just have to rely on Ein and Rose then, shall we?" Fia took a bite out of an applecot. "Ein's our leader, after all."

"Leader?" Ein protested. "Why am I the leader?"

"You can't be a leader again after leading the previous resistance?" Rose asked.

"You're the most capable one here, and you know all our abilities and weaknesses," Serene added. "It's only natural you lead us."

"I… guess so," Ein mumbled. "Okay then, I'll lead again."

"All right!" Cierra clapped her hands together. "We can give Ein advice, and he'll plan everything."

"That's a bit harsh, don't you think?" Ledah put in. "You'll have him shoulder all the responsibility?"

"Ein's a dependable guy," Fia responded. "I believe in him."

"Fia…" Ein stared at her for a moment. Fia looked back. "I…"

"Right, Ein?" Fia pressed.

"I believe in you too, Ein!" Cierra added.

"Yeah!" Serene agreed.

"Me too!" Rose said.

"I guess I do too," Ledah murmured.

"I… thanks, guys," Ein said. "I'll do it. We'll beat him together!"

"Yeah!" everyone cheered.

"I wonder where Lina went." Serene picked up a banango and stood up. "I'm going to see what she's up to."

"Okay." Ein waved her off.

Serene quietly left the dining room and crept up the stairs. She found Lina's room easily enough, next to Fia's room, which was clean and organized. She walked into Lina's room to find Lina jumping on the bed again. Clothes littered the floor, and the bed was a mess. A round mirror stood on a wooden table. The table was covered with various articles of clothing. The window hung open, and a gentle breeze wafted in from the opening.

"Oh, Serene!" Lina exclaimed when she saw her walk in. "How was the chat?"

"You missed a lot," Serene said in a serious tone. "We were discussing how to beat Orion. We're gonna take a huge magic bow and fire Cierra at him, and then she'll turn into a huge fireball and explode when she hits him. After that, we'll take all the pieces and cook them and eat them!"

"Whoa!" Lina stopped jumping and ran up to Serene. "Really? Really! We get to eat Cierra and the bad guy!"

"No." Serene laughed. "Just kidding."

"Waahhh!" Lina wailed. "Serene's mean!" She looked ready to cry.

"Come on, Lina," Serene smiled. She gently ruffled her hair. "Loosen up! You were jumping on the bed just a minute ago."

"Ah hah!" Lina jumped away, holding a banango above her head. "Gotcha!"

"Huh? What…" Serene looked down at her hand. The banango was gone. "How did you do that?" she demanded.

Lina giggled. "Lina's sneaky!" She peeled the banango and bit it, jumping on the bed again.

Serene shook her head. "You'd make a good thief," she remarked.

"Yup!" Lina exclaimed. She finished eating the banango and chucked the peel at Serene.

She caught it in her hand, spreading sticky juices onto her hand.

"Eww!" Serene shouted, and proceeded to throw the peel out the window.

"Someone's gonna slip on that," Lina informed her. "I'm sure Cierra would."

"Then she should watch where she's going," Serene replied. "Besides, that was disgusting!"

"Banango peels are fun!" Lina continued jumping. "Let's get more and throw them all out the window!"

"No, I think one is enough," Serene said. She wandered around the small room, picking up clothes as she went. Lina paid no attention as she went about collecting clothes. When she finished, Serene had a pile the size of her head. Lina looked down in surprise.

"Where did Serene find those clothes?" she asked cluelessly.

Serene pointed around the room. "Oh, just over there, there, there, there, there…"

"Oh, right," Lina said sheepishly. "Why did you pick them up?"

"You seemed to need help cleaning up." Serene winked. "You should do laundry or something."

"Lina hates chores!" Lina announced, and resumed jumping on the bed.

Serene shook her head. "You're older than Fia, and yet younger, in so many ways," she mumbled to herself. "But that's what makes you different."

"What are you babbling about?" Lina chirped. Serene looked up to see Lina was staring down at her."

"Oh, nothing," Serene hastily replied. "I can't tell which ones of these are dirty and which ones are clean."

"The ones that are dirty are dirty, and the ones that aren't dirty are clean!" Lina nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, that's it!"

Serene sighed. "No kidding."

"No, I'm not kidding!" Lina protested. "That's the absolute truth!"

"Yeah, I know," Serene sighed again. She set the clothes down in a corner. "Come on, let's go back down."

"Huh? Why?" Lina asked. "Why, why, why?"

"We have a scythe to do show and tell on," Serene reminded her. "Now come on!"

"Oh yeah. Okay!" Lina took Serene's hand and allowed herself to be pulled down the stairs.

--

A/N: Lina's even more innocent than Ein XD. I love that part about her. You could take advantage of it and make her say almost anything stupid XD. Her logic is awesome too D

I know that in the game it's possible to just waltz into Lina's room upstairs, and it doesn't look as bad as I made it sound here. I also know that Coco does help clean up Lina's room, so it shouldn't be half as bad as it was… My excuse is, Coco's been slacking off cleaning Lina's room lately, since she has more rooms to tend to (with people moving in and whatnot) XD.

On the next chapter of The White Wings…

Chapter 14: The Scythe's Powers (Release on August 24, 2006)

The group analyzes the extent of the scythe's powers, and discover some interesting properties. Afterwards, Rose's telepathy gets working again, and she decides to test at a very inconvenient time, and results in some unwanted events…


	14. The Scythe's Powers

Who's your favorite chick? I think Serene is my favorite. A combination of the personalities of Serene and Lina remind me of someone I know XD. I like them all, of course, though Cierra's cluelessness isn't really for me XD. Her awesome figure and clueless mind remind me of Mutsumi Otohime from Love Hina, though. Has anyone seen the official art/wallpapers? Whenever Cierra shows up in one, she usually has huge boobs XD. And of course, like someone said once somewhere, there's just something about shy little girls (like Fia) that make men go bananas XD.

Awright, here's chapter 14. Damn, I've been slacking off lately… this work is getting to me. Must work faster… writing one chapter a week while posting two a week is not really the best way to stay ahead… Anyhoo, enjoy!

--

When Serene and Lina got to the living room, they found Ein and the others already studying the new dark blue scythe that lay on the middle table.

"Hey, Serene!" Ein greeted as they entered. "We're just looking at it."

"Yeah, that's fine." Serene dragged Lina into the living room and sat down on the couch. Lina took a seat beside her, still holding her hand. "I made it from some weird metal Ritz found in the mine," she explained.

"This is some mysterious power," Cierra remarked. She picked up the scythe easily despite its size. "It's really light, yet it's powerful. I can't place what power this is."

"I was hoping you'd be able to," Serene said. "Any ideas, Fia? Ein?"

"It's dark, that's for sure," Fia murmured, rubbing her chin. "What do you think, Ein?"

"Let me test it out outside," Ein replied.

Everyone went outside into the yard, where they found a log. Rose grabbed onto Ledah's elbow and hid behind him, peeking out from his side. Cierra stayed close to Ein and the scythe, as did Fia. Serene and Lina stood a little further away.

"Ready?" Ein shouted.

"Ready when you are," Ledah answered.

"Okay then. Yah!" Ein swung the scythe in a large horizontal arc, cutting cleanly through the log lengthwise. "This thing is sharp!" he exclaimed.

"Yep," Serene replied. "Sharpest scythe so far."

"Hah!" Ein raised the scythe over his head and slashed down vertically. The scythe cut through the log and went right through the ground easily. Cierra and Fia had to jump back to avoid the dirt.

"Take it easy, Ein," Fia advised him. "You don't need to go all out to cut a log."

"I want to know the full potential of this weapon, though," Ein protested.

"I do too," Cierra agreed. Fia gave her a shocked look, but she just smiled. "We need to know what Ein can do with this weapon, so we might be able to use it against Orion."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Fia sighed. "Okay, then, do your best, Ein!"

"With pleasure!" Ein prepared his overskill. "I won't hold back!" He raised the scythe over his head, blade pointing forwards, pulsing with energy. He brought it down, and a wave of dark energy, circled with ribbons of light energy, ripped out from the blade and tore the log to shreds. Cierra and Fia screamed and jumped back to avoid the shards of wood that flew from the log.

"Aack!" Fia cried, brushing herself off. "What was that?"

Cierra inspected the pieces of wood that the log had become. "That's some power," she remarked. "Dark energy? That's rare in the weapons that sprites make."

"Yeah, this is the first one I've seen," Fia said. "Usually demons were the only ones who could use dark energy. We used light energy."

"And yet, what was that?" Ein asked. "There was some light energy mixed with it."

"Yeah, you're right," Cierra said thoughtfully. "There were some strands of light energy mixed in there."

"A combination attack," Ledah put in. Everyone turned to him. "It's an attack that uses more than one element for attack power," he explained. "It makes the attack more powerful."

"Say, why don't you try it," Ein suggested. "I don't think Cierra can use it, but maybe you can draw out some fire power."

Rose let go of Ledah, and he glided over to Ein and took the scythe. "Is there another log somewhere?" he asked.

"Why don't you try the grove?" Fia suggested. "It's a bit dark there right now, but I think we'll be able to see."

"Sure," Ledah replied. "Let's go."

Rose ran up and grabbed his arm again, and they all made their way to the Grove of Repose.

"Say, Lina and I tried executing overskills with that scythe earlier," Serene mentioned as they walked. Everyone turned to her. "Something similar to that happened. Mine had some ice in it, and Lina's had lightning."

"That's interesting," Cierra said. "Well, neither Fia nor I can use that scythe, but Ein's light power and Ledah's fire power make up for that."

"Yeah, mine released light energy with the dark wave," Ein added. "Ledah will probably have some flames in it."

"I'd expect that," Fia said, walking beside Ein. "His dominant element is fire, so he should have some flames with it."

"Lina doesn't understand, but okay!" Lina chirped.

"Say, I wonder if Rose can use that scythe," Ein remarked. He found two glowing eyes glaring at him from in front of him. "Uh, or not," he stammered uneasily.

"Good boy." Rose's voice drifted towards him. "I don't fight. You should know that."

"Uh, yeah…"

The group of seven reached the grove after a couple moments of silence. Ledah found a half-dead tree and cut it down.

"Okay, let the show begin!" Lina chirped. She hopped up onto Serene's shoulders, and Serene, somewhat surprised, nearly fell over.

"Lina, what are you…?"

"It's a better view from up here!" Lina exclaimed. Serene sighed. She didn't mind it anyway.

"Okay, Ledah, ready when you are!" Rose said from a safe distance away from the felled tree.

"All right," Ledah said. He took flight and spun the scythe in front of him a couple times in his hand to familiarize himself.

"That looks so cool!" Lina said. "I wish I could do that."

From midair, Ledah suddenly shot towards the log. He held the scythe below him, blade pointing forward. He hooked the blade under the log and suddenly dropped down, forcing the scythe under the log. With a yank of the handle, he split the log clean in half.

"Wow!" Serene exclaimed. "Awesome skills!"

"I wish I could do that," Cierra said in awe.

"Maybe I should train with a scythe too," Fia remarked.

"Everyone's amazed by Ledah's skill." Ein smiled to himself. "It comes so naturally to him."

Ledah spun the blade around again and slashed through the log horizontally. Spinning it some more, he flew backwards at an angle to the ground and raised the scythe above himself. He then shot downwards at the log and slashed straight down, embedding the scythe in the ground, boring a hole straight through the log.

"Burn in the flames of judgment! Crimson Flash!"

An aura appeared around Ledah, burning bright red. He pulled the scythe out of the ground and took to the air again. The log remained stuck on the scythe as he went up. With a swing of the scythe, the log took flight. Ledah chased after it, brandishing the scythe. At sonic speeds, he slashed through the log several times, splitting it into several pieces. As the pieces began to fall, he rose above them, holding the scythe in the air behind him, and focused his energy into the scythe. He then swung it, releasing a wave of dark energy surrounded by flames. The energy engulfed the pieces, splitting them into shards. The flames caused the shards to burst into flames, and the entire log was reduced to ashes before it hit the ground.

"Spectacular!" Cierra exclaimed. She didn't pay attention to a flaming shard that flew towards her and landed on her hat.

"Uh, Cierra?" Serene pointed at the shard. "There's a flaming piece of wood on your hat… don't you care?"

"Oh, this hat's fireproof," Cierra giggled. She pulled off her hat and shook the shard off. The shard burned up in the air, and the ashes dispersed in the wind. Cierra set her hat back on her head.

"It smells like burnt wood," Serene said, wrinkling her nose. "I hate that smell."

"Too bad!" Lina giggled. "You'll smell it more from now on!"

"Huh?" Serene looked up at her, and Lina dropped her head downwards. "What?"

"Nothing!"

"Right…"

"Judgment has been passed," Ledah said as he slowly descended, looking over the scythe the whole way down.

"Judgment? All you did was destroy a log," Rose teased. "You passed judgment on the log?"

"Who cares?" Ein defended Ledah. "It was spectacular either way."

"Yeah, you were good," Rose commented.

Ledah landed and walked over to Ein. "This is one powerful scythe," he remarked. "It'd be valuable in our fight against Orion."

Serene came up to them, Lina skipping along behind her. "I smashed a boulder using that scythe," Serene informed them. "It's pretty powerful. I'm not sure what kind of metal it is, but Ritz found it in the mine."

"Ritz found a scythe in the mine?" Cierra asked, looking a bit concerned.

"No, no, he found the metal," Serene said. "Geez, what would a scythe be doing in the mine?"

"Oh, right." Cierra gave a nervous laugh. "Anyway, it's only you four that can use that scythe." Cierra gave Fia a glance. "Fia and I can't use it."

"And I don't fight," Rose added. "Say, why don't Serene and Lina demonstrate too?"

"But we already did some practice with it earlier," Serene protested. "Do we need to?"

"Sure, I'd like to know what you can do with it," Ein said. "Come on, show us your stuff!"

"It's just so we can plan a strategy around the scythe if we need to," Fia added.

"Okay, okay, fine," Serene said. "I'll just get straight to the overskill. The regular skill looks like any other."

"Me too!" Lina joined in.

"No problem," Ein agreed.

Serene quickly found two dying trees and cut both down. She set one aside for Lina to use later. Both of them demonstrated their abilities with the scythe.

"Just as I thought, the elemental power of the attack depends on the user's affinity," Cierra observed. "Serene's affinity is ice, so the attack is dark combined with ice. Lina's is lightning, so there's lightning in the attack."

"Yeah, and light in mine, and fire in Ledah's," Ein finished.

"From what I know, Ein's should be the most powerful out of those four," Ledah put in. Everyone turned to him. "The light and dark elements are opposites. If combined, the resulting attack can destroy any enemy."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Cierra said, rubbing her chin. "But the problem is, his skill with the scythe is nowhere near Serene's or yours."

"Hey!" Ein protested. "What's that supposed to mean!"

Ledah ignored him. "That's true. And because of that, I'd say Serene's or my overskill would be the most powerful."

Fia shot Ein a sympathetic look. "But that doesn't mean you only use the strongest, right?" she argued. "We have to use the right attack for the situation."

"We didn't say that we'd only use ours," Ledah replied coolly. "Don't worry, you two won't be ignored."

"Yay!" Lina chirped. "Well, are we done here?"

Ein raised his head again. "Yeah, I guess," he said brightly. "Let's go, everyone!"

Fia looked at Ein quizzingly as the began to walk back home. Ein caught her glance, shrugged, and motioned for her to join him by his side. She moved up to him.

"You didn't have to stand up for me," Ein said quietly.

"I wanted to, you know?" Fia replied. "But anyway, what WERE you talking about back there in the kitchen?"

"Huh? Back there? We were-"

"Testing, 1-2-3, testing." A strangely familiar voice boomed in Ein's head.

"Huh? What?" Ein said aloud, looking around. "Who said that?"

"I did," Fia said, confused and misunderstanding. "Um, I just asked what you were talking about back in the kitchen."

"Seems like I got my telepathy thing working again. Ein? It's me."

Suddenly it hit him. "Rose?" Ein asked. The voice was different from Rose's current voice, but it was the voice that Rose had in telepathy.

"Huh? You were talking about Rose?" Fia looked at him worriedly. "You mean our Rose?"

"So, I'm guessing you still can't return messages telepathically," Rose said, still telepathically.

"Yeah," Ein confirmed.

"What? You _were_ talking about Rose? What about her?" Fia continued, still unaware of Ein's condition.

"Oh well, I can hear you from here, so no one should know what you're talking about," Rose remarked. "So, Ein, care to say what you think of Fia now?"

Ein blushed again. "Huh? Uh, well, uh, she's… cute, I guess."

Fia nearly fainted. "What? Rose is cute? How could you!"

"So do you like her?" Rose asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I like her," Ein said.

"Ah!" Fia nearly screamed. "Ein!"

"Huh? What?" Ein asked, confused. "What are you screaming about?"

"If you liked her, Ein, you could have told me!" Fia cried. "Ein, how… how could you?"

"Um, what?"

"Argh! I hate you, Ein!" Fia stormed off, leaving Ein standing alone, watching her go in disbelief.

"Uh, Ein? What's going on?" Rose asked worriedly.

"Oh, I was just talking to Fia when you started to test your telepathy," Ein replied. "I honestly don't know what made her do that."

"You better talk to her later," Rose advised. "Seems like a misunderstanding."

"Yeah, I think so too," Ein said. "I'll talk to her next time I get the chance to."

Fia reached the house ahead of everyone and swiftly went up to her room and locked herself up. Ein knocked but received no reply.

"Fia, what's wrong?" he asked.

"You dare to ask?" Fia shouted. She sounded like she was crying. "What's wrong with you? Go away!"

"Um, can we talk?"

"No!"

"Uh, okay then." Ein nervously walked away and went back down the stairs.

"Hey, Ein?" Lina came up to him. "I'm going to sleep over at Serene's house, okay?"

"Huh? Serene's house? Sure, no problem," he replied. He looked back up the stairs worriedly, and then turned his gaze back to Lina, who looked at him quizzically.

"Ein, what's wrong?" Lina asked. Serene came in and stood by Lina.

"Er, nothing," Ein answered. "I'm kinda tired. Serene, take care of her." He went towards the living room.

"Uh, sure thing," Serene replied, pulling Lina along. They left the house quietly.

Ein entered the living room to see Ledah and Rose sitting together on the couch. "Hey," he greeted.

"Oh, Ein," Rose said. "How's Fia?"

"She doesn't seem to want to talk to me," Ein answered. "I hope she's okay…"

"Ah, sorry about that," Rose apologized. "Seems like that was my fault."

"Your fault? How?"

"I shouldn't have tried the telepathy when I did."

"Ah, don't worry about it," Ein reassured her. "I'll talk to her when I next get the chance."

"Mm, okay. Say, Ein, do you mind if we stay here for tonight?" Rose asked.

"Stay here? No, I don't mind," Ein replied. "Do you want to sleep in Lina's room?"

"Lina's room? Isn't it a mess?" Ledah asked.

"Well, you can sleep here if you want." Ein shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me."

"Er, I guess we'll sleep down here," Rose decided. "Who knows what lurks in the shadows of Lina's room?"

Ein laughed. "I don't know, I don't go in there often."

"Figures. Well, good night." Rose patted Ein on the head. "Good luck."

"Huh? What for?"

"Clueless as always…" Ledah grinned.

"What?"

"Don't worry, you'll see soon enough," Rose replied. "Now, get some rest."

"Okay."

Ein turned to see Cierra standing in the doorway. "Hey, what's up?" he asked. "It's getting late. I'm about to go up."

"Yeah, same here," Cierra answered. "Just waiting for you."

"Oh, okay. Let's go, then."

Ein walked past her and went up the stairs. Cierra followed behind him.

"Well, good night then, Cierra," Ein said when they reached Cierra's room.

"Yup. Good night!" Cierra said as she entered her room and closed the door. Ein entered his room and closed the door. He lay on the bed wondering what he should say to Fia, and drifted off to sleep after a few minutes.

---

Fia lay facedown on the bed, sobbing on her pillow. _Ein… how could you?_ _I loved you so much! You just turn me away for her?_

She picked up a picture taken at the bluff. It was just Ein and Fia, standing together, hand in hand, with an orange sunset behind them. They stood on a cliff overlooking the vast blue ocean. It was her most cherished memory. _Ein… did you love me? Or was it all false? Did you love her this whole time?_

She tossed the picture into the air, and somehow it made its way back onto the table. _After all the times we spent together, you just turn me away for Rose…_

"No! I'll never talk to you again!" she declared, then sobbed on her pillow some more. After a moment, she thought, _no, I can't deny it. I still love him… but he loves her. Oh, what do I do…_ she continued to cry, and after a while she drifted off to sleep, dreaming of Ein and all the times they had spent together.

--

A/N: Poor Fia! I feel sorry for her too, trust me. Throwing characters into these situations just makes you feel more sympathetic, right? Right? Um… yeah.

It took me quite a while to write out the telepathy part. Ein has to say the exact right words to Rose's questions, and those words have to equally answer Fia's questions at the same time. You've seen Ein in that situation just once in an earlier chapter, with Serene and Malice XD. I don't expect you to remember it, so don't feel bad if you don't.

Dual-elemental attacks! I know it seems like I stole the idea from Sauce XIV's story, but trust me, I didn't. I had this chapter written before he had his written. And besides, the concepts are not the same. The two extra elements of his attack came from the physical environment, while the dark element here comes directly from the scythe. You may have also noticed that Lina and Ein don't shout out attack names, but that's because they never do in the game with scythes. Just to make it interesting, Ledah's skill level with a scythe is as high as Serene's, even though he does say that Lorelei is all he needs at the beginning of the game (if you try to use anything else, ex. Einherjar, in his turn). Besides, someone from the flame element family had to use the scythe…

On the next chapter of The White Wings…

Chapter 15: The Quiet Night (Release on August 27, 2006)

Rose and Ledah alone time! The two share a night together on the living room couch. Expect fluff, but don't expect too much sex, if at all XD. It'll be a very short chapter, only seven words longer than chapter 5 (remember? XD), which is still the shortest chapter to date.


	15. The Quiet Night

really should have a document maker. It already has a doc editor, so why not? Even Geocities lets you create HTML documents on the site… With a doc maker, you don't have to upload documents; rather, you can just copy and paste stuff (or just write it in the site) and save it on the site. I'm not sure how much more or less convenient it would be, but it should at least be an option… 

Ah, the 15th chapter mark! It feels good, oooh yeah XD. As I said before, this is a purely LxR chapter, and nothing else.

I made this chapter because I thought I was giving Serene and Lina way more screen time than these two, and it wasn't really fair. Yeah, I know, Ein and Fia are receiving even less screen time, but… we'll see how it goes. Enjoy!

--

"How're you feeling?"

Ledah's soft voice drifted into Rose's ears. She opened an eye halfway and saw it was nearly pitch-black. "Kind of cold," she whispered back.

"Oh really?" Ledah slid an arm around Rose's waist, making her nearly yelp in surprise. "I think it's warm enough."

"That's 'cause you're sleeping between me and the couch's backrest," Rose replied slyly.

"Yeah? I guess I owe you a favor then." Ledah pulled his wings from behind him and wrapped them around Rose. "Feel better?"

"Leave some space to breathe… Other than that, awesome."

Rose lay facing outwards in Ledah's embrace. She slowly relaxed, and set her head on his chest. Ledah kept both arms around her waist protectively, as if he were carrying her by her waist. He slowly reached down and kissed her on the neck, and felt her tremble slightly.

"How is it you're so good at this?" Rose asked under her breath. "Have you had some previous experience?"

"I read, you know." Ledah pulled away slowly and ran his hand along Rose's short hair.

"I didn't know you read about this stuff." Rose turned in Ledah's embrace, and set her head on his chest. "I mean, I know you read my works, but they weren't really this intimate…"

"Yeah, I read a lot of things you don't know about." Ledah took to toying with Rose's cat ears.

"I guess so," Rose whispered. "I love you, and yet I… I need to learn more about you…"

Ledah chuckled, startling Rose, who wasn't quite used to it yet. "Don't worry, you know a lot already."

"I guess you're right, but I want to know more…" Rose looked off toward the window. Tonight wasn't as clear as last night, and there weren't as many stars visible. The moon peeked out of the clouds, shining a weak light across the land.

"Are you still worried about Ein and Fia?" Ledah asked gently. He ran a hand down her hair.

"Yeah, I am," Rose admitted, turning back to him. "I can't shake the feeling that it's my fault…"

"Hey, it's not your fault." Ledah pulled her closer in his embrace. "I'm sure it's not your fault, so don't dwell on it…"

"I-I knew you'd say that." Rose closed her eyes and relaxed. "But I still feel responsible, somehow…"

"And I'm telling you that you aren't responsible," Ledah replied. "Just let go of it, at least for now…"

A tear ran down Rose's cheek. "Yeah…"

In the darkness, Ledah quietly pulled off his shirt. "It's a bit warm…"

"Hey, it's not fair that you get the backrest," Rose teased. "Well, it's warmer with your wings around like that, at least."

"This way might make it warmer for you," Ledah whispered. "Might help if you did the same."

"Huh? What did you do?" Rose asked.

"Oh, yeah, you can't see," Ledah murmured. "I just took off my shirt."

"Huh? What?" She ran a hand down his chest. "I never imagined you'd be so thin, being so strong."

"So you like the macho type guys?" Ledah teased. "Big muscles and all?"

"Ack! No, I didn't say that…" Rose slowly pulled off her shirt. "I like the smart, thin guys."

Rose lay in Ledah's arms quietly. A few moments passed in silence before she reached up and kissed him, passionately, on the mouth. Ledah responded almost naturally. Her heart began to beat faster, her breathing sped up, and she felt much warmer. Ledah experienced a similar sensation.

"You do, huh?" Ledah asked, breaking the kiss gently. "You seem to be saying that just at this moment…"

"No, I mean it." Rose curled up a little. "I don't really have a kind of guy that I go for, but more like just one person…"

"Gee, I wonder what you're talking about." Ledah ruffled up Rose's hair, feigning ignorance.

"I guess I didn't make much sense…"

"It's okay. It doesn't really matter." Ledah pressed his hand into her bare back, and pressed his lips against hers again.

Rose closed her eyes, and the corners of her mouth curled upwards ever so slightly. _Yeah…_

After a couple moments, Ledah broke the kiss again. "What would you do… if I left?"

"Huh? Why would you even leave in the first place?"

"Um, it was a stupid question. Forget it…" Ledah leaned in again, but Rose pushed him back.

"You're not planning to leave, are you?" Rose asked, worry obvious in her voice.

"No, of course not." Ledah gently pushed at her arms, and she relaxed. "Didn't I promise before? I'll never leave you. I'll always be here for you."

"So why did you ask?" Rose put her arms back down. "You got me by surprise there."

"I just wanted to know what the answer was," Ledah answered. "If one day I should die or something, what would you do?"

"Oh, so it's something like that." Rose thought for a moment, causing a short silence. "I'd cry… I'd want you to come back to me… Could I live without you?"

"You were ever since we were separated at Heaven's Gate at the beginning of the journey a couple years ago…"

Rose cringed, but Ledah couldn't see. "I know, but do you have any idea how lonely I was?" She put a hand on Ledah's chest and rested her head on it. "Don't leave me ever again, okay? I don't think I can take it if you did…"

"You're telling me to escape death, you know?" Ledah teased. "I'll do my best, but I can make no guarantees."

"Yeah. Knowing that, I can forgive you if you died, but if you tried to die, I can never."

"Uh-huh. Don't you worry, I'm not the suicidal type." Ledah planted another kiss on her mouth. _I'll never leave, even if I die… until you leave with me…_

They stayed with their lips together for a couple moments before Rose gently broke the kiss. "Aren't you tired?" she asked. "It _is_ a bit late…"

"Don't you worry about me," Ledah answered. "I'm fine."

"If you… say so…" Rose whispered for one last time before drifting off to sleep in Ledah's arms, a smile on her face.

For a few minutes, Ledah kept Rose in his embrace quietly in the darkness, awake. He felt her light breath on his chest, and her back moved up and down slightly. _Helpless when asleep…_ he thought. _She must look so cute right now… it's too bad I can't see in this darkness…_

"I promise again, Rose," he declared softly. "I'll never leave your side. I'll be with you, always and forever." He kissed her on the forehead one more time before he himself drifted off to sleep.

--

A/N: Aww, ain't that cute! I only wish I had Rose's face in my face collection so I could know exactly how she looks like… Thanks the Lacrima Castle dot net, though, I have a nice shot of her in a picture from the CG collection. In case you're wondering, yes, I do have the bathing scenes too XD

On the next chapter of The White Wings…

Chapter 16: Misunderstanding – Fia Seeks Advice? (Release on August 31, 2006)

After eating breakfast and chatting with Coco, Ein takes a walk and talks to Reiche for a bit. Afterward, he finds his way to a certain house, and finds Fia talking to the couple inside…


	16. Misunderstanding, Fia Seeks Advice?

Damn, it feels like I'm running out of motivation to write… is this what they call "writer's block"? Someone give me inspiration, quick! XD

I'm also running out of ideas of what stuff to put in this foreword…

Oh yeah, this is going to be the last Thursday update for a while. School starts on September 5 for me, so updates after this one will come every Sunday. I'll try to keep the quality good, tho'!

Anyway, welcome to chapter 16! Not an eye-wrenchingly long chapter like the cooking one, but it's longer than chapter 15. In other words, not too short, not too long. Enjoy!

--

The next morning came, and the smell of cooking wafted up the stairs. Ein sniffed the air as he got dressed.

"Wonder what Coco's cooking this morning," he thought aloud.

He exited his room and headed for the stairs. He stopped by Fia's door, which was still closed. He debated knocking, and after a moment, decided to knock.

"Hello? Fia?" He got not response.

Ein opened the door a crack to get a peek in. He was surprised to find that Fia wasn't inside. He closed the door and headed down the stairs.

"Good morning, master Ein," Coco greeted as he entered the kitchen.

"Morning," Ein returned. "Have you seen Fia?"

"Oh, Fia left quite early this morning," Coco replied. "Here, some breakfast?" She handed him a plate with fried eggs, ham, and bread.

"Thanks, Coco." Ein took the plate. "I wonder what she's doing?"

"Are you worried?" Coco winked slyly. "Heh, figures…"

"Ahem, did you say something?" Ein asked between bites.

"No, nothing." Coco quickly turned away and started cleaning.

"Say, where were you yesterday?" Ein asked.

"Huh? Yesterday?" Coco thought for a moment. "Out picking fruits in the morning, running away from the beast a little later, bathing in the spring after that, and then some afternoon gardening. I went to take another bath after gardening." She counted off her fingers as she listed her activities. "Why? Did ya miss me?"

"Oh, I was just wondering why you were out of the house the whole day," Ein answered. He glanced up at Coco. "Say, did you notice anything odd about Fia when she left this morning?"

"What's with all these questions?" Coco asked. "Feels like I'm on trial or something. Fia… well, now that you mention it, she did seem somewhat preoccupied."

"Preoccupied? How?"

"And she looked like she'd been crying all night, too," Coco continued. "Her eyes were a little red. When I went into her room this morning to do some cleaning, I found the pillow all wet."

"Hmm." Ein took a bite out of the egg. "How did she seem preoccupied?"

"Well, she was walking into things." Coco flew up onto the table and sat down in front of him. "Did something happen last night?"

"Um, I don't know, actually," Ein answered. "I think something did, because she just ran off for no good reason, and locked herself in her room afterwards. She didn't want to talk to me after that."

Coco got up and stretched a bit. "Did you do something to her then?"

"Wha? No! Why would I?" Ein cried.

"Well, it's clear that something did happen," Coco said. "You better talk to her when you next get the chance."

"Yeah, Rose said the same thing," Ein added. He finished up his breakfast. "Is there any milk left?"

"Milk? Oh, yes, coming right up!" Coco flew towards the fridge and pulled out a carton. She then grabbed a cup and poured out a cupful of milk. After returning the cup to the fridge, she carried the cup to Ein.

"There ya go." Coco set it down in front of him.

"Thanks." Ein took a sip. "You're pretty strong for your size, Coco."

"Really?" Coco's cheeks turned slightly pink. "Aw, it's nothing."

Ein chugged the rest of the milk and brought the cup and his plate to the sink. "Thanks for the meal, Coco. I'm gonna go look for Fia."

"Okay! See you later!" Coco returned to her cleaning.

Ein entered the living room to find Rose and Ledah sleeping together on a couch. Ledah had his back to the backrest, and Rose lay in front of him in his embrace. Ledah had his wings gently wrapped around Rose. Both of them had their shirts off at the side. Ein tiptoed past them towards the door, put on his shoes, and left.

He reached the grove before he realized he'd left his Angel Blade at the house. _Oh well, I don't think I'll need it…_

"Hey, Ein!"

Ein looked up to see Reiche holding an orange rock. "Hey, Reiche."

"What's wrong? You look kinda down." Reiche tossed the rock into the air a couple times.

"Well, Fia's avoiding me today," Ein replied. "I don't really know what's wrong. I want to find her to talk to her, but she left early this morning."

"Aw, that sucks." Reiche took another rock out, this one a swirl of green and light blue, and juggled the two in one hand. "I haven't seen her around. Did something happen last night or something?"

"That's what I'm wondering," Ein answered. He hopped onto a boulder and sat down. "What do you think?"

"Well, I'm not too professional with girls myself, but I'd say something happened recently that's got her upset," Reiche advised him. "You'd better find out what's got her so upset." He set the rocks down and took a seat beside Ein.

"Yeah, I'm planning to do that, but first I have to find her, right?"

"No kidding, man. You can't find a solution without knowing the problem first."

"Right." Ein lay down flat on the boulder and stared up at the cloudless sky. He squinted against the morning sun. "But you know, I don't want to make her more upset by asking a stupid question, or a question she thinks is stupid."

"That's true…"

"Well, in any case, I have to find her." Ein hopped off the boulder and glided his way down. "Thanks, Reiche. I feel a bit more motivated now.

"Uh, no problem?" Reiche watched Ein glide away, and shook his head. "Looks like we both have a lot to learn about women," he said to himself.

Ein made his way through a small dirt path that led to Serene's house. _Maybe I should ask her?_ He arrived at the house, which seemed quite plain from the outside. His knock received no answer, so he entered through the unlocked front door.

He surveyed the inside when he entered. The floor was clean and smooth, the walls simple. Several wooden chairs circled a central table. _This must be the living room,_ he thought. He saw the scythe that Serene had showed them last night laying on the central table. Several other scythes lay behind a couch.

Ein walked towards the nearby door, and saw two pictures hanging on the wall as he passed by. One showed Serene looking away at a sunset over a cliff. The other was a painting, with Serene and Lina. Serene sat with Lina's head in her lap. Both pairs of eyes were half closed, staring into each other's eyes, as if in a trance. But what caught Ein's eye the most was that they were both completely naked, and he stood staring for a full minute before shaking himself out of his reverie.

He entered the door into the kitchen, which he found very tidy but unfurnished. A barrel of water sat in a corner next to a storage room door. The refrigerator stood on the opposite side, next to a stove that had been hardly used. A sink had a drain that led outside over the grass. Finding the kitchen fairly boring, he left and went up the flight of stairs.

Ein approached a door that was open a crack. Sunlight streamed from the crack, and he could hear faint sobbing and voices coming from the room. Curiosity overcame him, and he sat down near the doorway and listened quietly.

"…he said he likes her!" Fia's voice drifted out between sobs. "After all that! Wh-what is wrong w-with him?"

"Hey, there, there." Serene's voice gently soothed Fia. "That guy's a jerk. Don't let him get to you."

"Don't call him a jerk!" Fia suddenly sprung onto the defense. "I can't forgive him for that, but he's still a good guy, and I still like him!" She broke down in tears again. "Why… why can't I let go of him?"

"Lina thinks you shouldn't!" Lina's cheery voice wafted out too. "If Fia still likes him, Fia should go for him!"

"Huh?" Fia asked, surprised. "Lina? But why?"

"I think she's right," Serene agreed. "If you can't let go of him, that's probably a sign that you shouldn't be trying to in the first place. If you still love that je- if you still love Ein, then go after him with all your heart!"

"But he loves Rose!" Fia wailed. "I can't make him change his feelings!"

_Rose?_ Ein thought. _What is she talking about? And, she loves me?_

"How do you know that?" Serene asked.

"He was talking about it last night," Fia answered. She started to cry again, so Serene took her in her arms and let her cry on her shoulders. Shaking, she continued, "He said, he was talking about Rose that time, and that he thought she was cute and he liked her!"

_Oh no,_ Ein thought. _This is so wrong… she's got it so wrong. And what's worse, Serene wasn't there to hear the conversation, so she doesn't know it's not true. Neither was Lina._

"Oh, man, you're not kidding?" Serene exclaimed, shocked. "But hey, I thought Rose was with Ledah!"

"Yeah!" Lina chimed in. "Rose said she was with Ledah that night, and they even kissed!"

"Lina! Watch it!" Serene scolded.

Fia suddenly stopped crying, and looked up. "What did you say? Rose and Ledah?"

"Yeah," Serene confirmed. "Rose obviously loves Ledah. If Ein started to go for Rose, I'll bet Ledah would beat him to a pulp."

"Unless Ein was serious!" Lina giggled. "If Ein was serious, he could beat Ledah!"

"But hold on here," Fia said. "If Rose likes Ledah, then what about Ein?"

"I don't think Rose likes Ein that way," Serene assured her. "The two of them have been together longer than I can imagine, but I don't think they share that kind of relationship."

"But what if Ein likes Rose?" Fia protested. "What if he has feelings for her?"

"It'd all be one-sided, wouldn't it?" Serene replied. "And besides, you might have heard wrong."

"Oh, I don't know anymore." Fia cried on Serene's shoulder again, burying her head as far as she could. "Sometimes, I envy your easy relationship."

Serene grinned at Lina. "Well, we're just lucky, I guess. But you know what? The kind of thing you're facing right now will work to strengthen your relationship in the future."

"Huh?" Fia looked up, eyes red with tears. "What does that mean?"

"That means you'll love him more!" Lina chirped.

"That might not be the case," Serene said. "It's a complicated thing. But if Ein has to choose between you two, he'd have to put more thought into it rather than if he just goes along with you."

"Th-that makes sense, I guess," Fia said. "But still! This is so much to take!"

"Look, Fia," Serene put her hands on Fia's shoulders, pushing her away a bit and looking into her eyes. "Go and talk to Ein. Learn the truth about all this. You can't make a decision until you do that."

Fia closed her eyes and shook her head, forcing the tears out and sending them flying. "You're right, but… I don't know if I can face him…"

"You can do it!" Lina exclaimed. "Fia! Fight!"

"The Fia I know would be able to do it." Serene smiled. Fia looked up into her eyes. "Go for it!"

"O-okay." Fia's eyes filled with a new determination. "Thanks, you two. I'll be sure to come back if I have any more problems."

"We'll be here to give you support when you need it," Serene replied with her smile. "Come on, show us the smile we all love so much."

"Huh?" Fia blushed. "Mm, thanks." She brought her head up higher, and the bright smile came back onto her face, its energy pulsing with the sun. "Okay, I'm going." She wiped her face of the tears. "Thank you so much, Serene, and you too, Lina."

"No problem." Serene winked. "Come back when you need support again."

"Will do." Fia headed for the door, where Ein was still listening, not aware that Fia was about to exit.

"Whaa!" Fia stumbled over a body as she exited. She regained her balance and got a closer look, but the white wings instantly gave her the answer. "Ein!" she exclaimed.

--

A/N: Heh, poor Ein. That rift is getting larger and larger XD. I don't intend to spoil the story, so I'm gonna shut my mouth now XD

Reiche doesn't strike me as a girl-chaser, but I think he could give Ein a little bit of advice. Not as much as some other guys, though… I'm sure Claude could give him more advice. I'm equally sure the girls would give him even better advice XD

Ah, and yes, the two pictures on the wall. Eh heh heh, Ein the perv XD

On the next chapter of The White Wings…

Chapter 17: Busted! (Release on September 3, 2006)

Fia dashes off, leaving Ein with Serene and Lina. After talking to the two for a while, Ein leaves. Serene and Lina play around inside the house, and find out some rather interesting things about the other's underwear habits… Meanwhile, outside, Ein gets lost and meets an unexpected adversary… Perverted yuri, you've been warned! XD


	17. Busted!

I arrived home late last night, after the site came down, so I wasn't able to update quite yet... sorry bout that. Late update, but here it is!

Feels like another wisdom tooth on the other side of my mouth is growing in… and unfortunately, it'll probably need pulling, seeing as it was hurting a little a couple days ago. Sigh… another hole in my gums… trust me, if the tooth doesn't hurt, avoid pulling it!

I've finally learned how to make a profile! Yes, sad, I know XD. Check it out if you want… it's not particularly interesting…

Chapter 17! Ein got pwned! Now you get to find out how it turns out… heh heh…

I'm thinking of editing chapter one for a plothole and the disclaimer. I haven't done it yet, but I likely will at some point. I'll let you all know when I do (not like it's important… . ), so for now, relax and enjoy!

--

"Ein, what are you doing!"

"Whoa, what's going on? Huh? Ein!" Serene came rushing out to find Fia gawking at Ein, who was gawking back.

"Ein's a pervert…" Lina said. "Um, pervert? Or spy? Yeah! Ein's a spy… wait, that's still wrong…"

"Why were you listening in on our conversation!" Fia exclaimed. "Have you no shame!"

"Uh, I-"

"I trusted you!" Tears began to well up in Fia's eyes. "How could you do something like that!"

"Um, I was going to ask Ser-"

"That does it!" Fia yelled, turning away so he couldn't see the tears in her eyes. "I'll never forgive you for that!" Fia ran downstairs and out the door.

"Hey, I was…" Ein held his arm out, but withdrew it and sighed. "Gone already…"

"Eeiinnn…?"

Ein turned to see Serene's glare. Her dark blue eyes pierced him. "Uh, I was coming to ask some advice about Fia, but I guess I don't need to now."

"A likely story." Serene clenched her fist in front of his face. "What's wrong with you?"

"Uh, Serene? Lina thinks we should talk to Ein!" Lina interrupted. "Lina thinks Ein's not lying!"

Serene took a closer look at Ein's face, an angry expression on her face. "Okay, fine. We talk downstairs though."

"What's wrong with here?" Ein asked, pointing inside.

"That's my room, you dolt!" Serene smacked him on the head. "I'm a girl! You think I'll let a guy into my room so easily?"

"Uh, okay, okay!" Ein went down the stairs, Serene and Lina following. _I think it's best to not get on their nerves…_

"So, Ein, what did you come to ask about?" Serene asked, sitting down on a couch beside Lina. "Oh, and sorry about that. I kinda lost it there." She grinned sheepishly.

"It's okay. Anyway, what did you guys talk about?"

"Weren't you listening?" Serene asked, surprised. "That's a pretty stupid question."

"I only heard as much as I heard," Ein replied. "About the misunderstanding. That's pretty much all."

"Well, that's good, then," Serene said. "It'd be bad if you heard too much. Anyway, was it a misunderstanding, like I thought it was?"

"Um, yeah," Ein answered, twiddling his fingers. "I'm not sure how she came up with it, though."

"Fia said she asked and you answered!" Lina put in. "She asked who you were talking about, and you said Rose! She asked what about Rose, and you said she was cute! She asked if you liked her, and you said you did!"

"Huh? I don't remember saying anything like that…" Ein rubbed his chin. "Let's see, we were walking back, and then Fia started talking to me. In the middle of that, Rose started to send me telepathic messages, and I answered by talking-"

"Telepathy?" Serene leaned in closer. "What the heck?"

"Yeah. We share a kind of psychic connection. Anyway, I can't send messages myself, so I have to answer out loud."

"Hmm, and all that time, she was still asking questions…" Serene scratched her head. "I think I get it. She didn't know you were talking to Rose, and she thought you were answering her questions…?"

"Now, isn't that a bit strange?" Ein asked. "I would have to word everything perfectly, and answer the exact right questions for that to happen."

"Well, it's still possible." Serene winked. "That telepathy thing probably caused all this trouble. You better clear it up as soon as you can."

"B-but let's make sure first," Ein protested. "What did she say my answers were?"

"Um, Lina told you already!" Lina yelled. "Weren't you listening!"

"I just want to make sure!" Ein shot back. "Come on, what did she say?"

"Er, she first asked what you were talking about while cooking dinner, and you said Rose," Serene explained. "Then, she asked if you thought she was cute, and you said, yeah, she's cute. And then, when she asked if you liked her, you said yes."

"Hm, the way I remember it, I was talking to Rose and answering her questions," Ein recalled. "She startled me, and when I recognized the voice, I said 'Rose?' And then she asked me if I thought Fia was cute, and I said yes. After that, she asked if I liked her, and I said I did. It was pretty much a small repeat of the conversation during cooki-"

"That explains everything!" Serene exclaimed, jumping up and punching the air. "Okay, now you have to explain it to her. I'm sure she'll understand."

"It still seems odd to me how she asked the questions at the exact right times," Ein said. "Don't you think so?"

"Well, yeah, but it still happened," Lina argued.

"Just tell her, Ein." Serene gave him a smile. "Okay?"

"Well, okay." Ein walked towards the door, but paused for a second. "Um, Serene?"

"Yeah?"

"What's a picture like that doing on your wall?" Ein pointed at the picture with Serene and Lina.

"What pic- Ein! You pervert!" Lina shouted, chasing a wailing Ein out the door. "How long have you been staring at that picture, perv!"

"Eek! Okay, I'm gone!" Ein ran off.

"Hey, Ein! The village is THAT way!" Lina yelled, pointing in the opposite direction that he'd gone.

"Wow, what a ruckus," Serene remarked, settling down on the couch. "Did he really run off in the wrong direction?"

"After Lina told him which way to go, yes." Lina giggled. "That should teach him a lesson." She sat down next to Serene. "Well, shall we?"

"You're not wondering about the picture?" Serene asked, surprised.

"Um, yes!" Lina chirped. "Why did you paint it?"

"Because I…" Serene tugged at a ribbon, and her clothes slid off her shoulder, just hanging on by the other. "I thought it would be _interesting_, that's all…" She gently pushed Lina into a lying position and brushed at her clothes, loosening them. When the clothes slid off, she recoiled in surprise. "L-Lina! You w-wear a _bra_?"

Lina's eyes, which had closed for a moment, popped open, and she glared at Serene. "That was mean!" She poked at Serene's chest playfully. "I'm sure you wear one too!"

_I had no idea…_ Serene tugged at the rest of Lina's clothes, and her jaw dropped. "No p-p-panties? Wh-why the heck do you walk around wearing a bra and no panties?"

"It feels better without panties on!" Lina chirped. "And anyway…" She turned away, blushing. "It makes it more _fun_." She turned back to Serene at the last word, and proceeded to toy with her clothes.

Serene relaxed and let Lina play with her shirt. When it slid down, Lina was the one who became shocked. "Uh, Serene doesn't wear a bra?" She giggled. "I thought you would…"

Serene chuckled, blushing slightly. "I do have panties though." She winked. "I'm too lazy to put on a bra in my own house, you know? And hey, it's more fun."

Lina giggled again as she tugged at the rest of Serene's clothes. They fell away easily, leaving the panties. "Huh? Light blue panties…"

"Hey, better than your bright yellow bra!" Serene teased, tugging at the bra playfully. She crouched down low over Lina, mixing their body heat. "We can leave it on, I guess."

"You too!" Lina managed to get out before Serene pressed her lips against Lina's. Lina put an arm over Serene's bare back, playing with one of her wings.

Serene broke the kiss momentarily, and whispered, "Now you know why I can never be on the bottom." She pressed again. _I can never seem to get enough of this…_ she thought. She ran her finger down Lina's back playfully, and she shook involuntarily in irritation.

"Serene!" Lina cried, breaking the kiss. She poked Serene in the sides repeatedly.

Serene recoiled, laughing. She was especially sensitive on the sides, but she knew Lina was too. She drove in and countered with her own poking. After a minute or so, Lina threw her hands up, teary-eyed from laughing. "Okay, okay! You win!"

Serene drew back and stopped poking, but that was all Lina needed. In an instant, she got both of Serene's hands behind her back and tied them. She eased Serene onto her knees at the side, her forehead on the floor. Then, Lina got up on her bare back with an evil grin and tickled away.

"Eep!" Serene shrieked, squirming in Lina's firm grip. "That's not fair!" Giggling overtook her, and it was all she could do to keep from passing out.

"Hey, it's my turn!" Lina giggled. "I'm gonna get you back!"

"Rawr! Ha ha, I'm going to, ha, get you for, ha, this!" Serene declared between laughs. Her knees slid out, and she fell flat on the floor. "Ack!" Lina pinned her legs down with her feet, and kept tickling.

"L-Lina!" Serene choked, gasping for breath between giggles. "Ack, I'm gonna, ha, pass out!"

"Lina will tickle faster then!" Lina's grin grew wider, and, true to her word, began to tickle as fast as she could despite Serene's protesting. After a couple moments, Serene fainted from laughing and stopped squirming. Lina got up and giggled.

"That was fun!" she exclaimed. She untied Serene's hands, then rolled her onto her back carefully, keeping the wings out of the way. "Hmm…" She poked Serene's right breast, and it bounced in response. "Whee!" she giggled, poking it again.

Lina got up and sat down on the couch. _She's actually cute when she's asleep,_ she thought.

She watched Serene's chest move up and down with her breathing. Her face was tinted pink with strain, and bits of dust and sand covered the front of her body. Lina sat down on the floor beside her, and brushed the dust and sand off her body lightly.

"Mmm…" Serene mumbled, and then was still. Lina ran her hand along Serene's smooth curves, and then lay down with her head on Serene's stomach. For fun, Lina pulled back Serene's panties and let the elastic snap back down. She got up and tried to lift Serene, and found it slightly difficult, but she managed to carry her up the stairs on her back.

Lina entered the room they now often shared, and set Serene down on the bed gently. Lina pulled back the blanket and tucked her under it, then went back downstairs, returning a moment later with the clothes. Tossing them aside, Lina pulled the blanket up and got under it next to Serene for an afternoon nap. Hugging Serene around the waist from behind, Lina drifted off to sleep with her head on Serene's back.

---

Ein arrived at a clearing surrounded by trees after running for a while. Panting, he looked around. "That Lina…" he complained aloud. "She sent me in the wrong direction, didn't she…?"

He leaned over, hands on his knees, breathing heavily. "Water… need water…" He spread his wings and took off, but didn't manage to get very high before a tree branch ensnared his wings, causing him to drop back down.

"Ouch…" he said, rubbing his head. "Why is it always the head?"

He decided to retrace his steps to go back to Serene's house before backtracking to the village, figuring that he'd be able to find his way back to Elendia then.

As he moved along, rubbing his wings, a pair of eyes watched him from the shadows of the trees. He paid no attention to the rustling of the leaves, because it was windy out. He made it to another clearing that he'd passed before. He decided to stop to rest, and leaned against a tree.

Suddenly, a dark figure burst from the trees and launched at him. Startled by the surprise attack, he barely managed to dodge the attack, which cut right through the tree. The figure then ran around to the other side of the tree and pushed it down, making it fall right at Ein with an alarming speed. Ein pushed off the ground and beat his wings a couple times, evading the tree.

Silently, the figure launched up at the airborne Ein. Its weapon morphed into a huge axe, which it then swung at Ein. Dodging blows, Ein zigzagged his way back down to the ground. _He's fast,_ he thought. _If only I had Oracion with me…_

The figure suddenly moved out of his sight so quickly he couldn't track its movements. Then, he felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder, and blood gushed out from the wound. Ein yelped and plummeted down into the ground, and the figure landed a few meters in front of him.

Ein grasped the wound with his hand. He watched the figure slowly advance towards him, readying the final blow. His vision blurred, and he could barely see the figure raise its axe over its head for the final blow.

Ein winced, and dropped his head down, closing his eyes. He prepared for the blow that would end his life, here and now. "I'm sorry, Fia, everyone… I've failed as guardian… and I'll never be able to properly apologize to you, Fia…"

--

A/N: Oh dear! Cliffhanger! Just awesome, aren't they? Even better when you have to wait longer! XD

Must work on making action scenes longer and a bit more detailed…

There you have it! Ein's greatest weakness: the absence of his power XD. Hey, it's a simple weakness, but it costs him dearly, doesn't it? XD

On the next chapter of The White Wings… I'll keep this short so I don't dull the effects of the cliffie P

Chapter 18: Forgiveness (Release on September 10, 2006)

It's the final blow! Or is it? What kind of fate awaits Ein?


	18. Forgiveness

Sorry about how late this is... I couldn't sign in or submit a review on Sunday, then on Monday I couldn't upload it because I have to use my new computer to upload, but I had everything (mouse, keyboard, monitor, etc) connected to the old computer and using that instead. Complicated story, so if you don't understand, that's fine. Anyway...

Sigh… I haven't managed to get a single chapter written since I don't know when. My interest in writing this is really starting to drop… I'll still do my best to keep writing, tho'. And since I hate leaving things unfinished, it's very likely that this fic will be finished at some point, but I can't say when for sure…

As promised, here's chapter 18. There may be small hints of LxE, but they are completely unintentional and should be ignored. As a reviewer mentioned, you all know he's not gonna die… so who's the miraculous savior? XD Enjoy!

--

Ein heard a rustling in front of him, and the sound of the axe moving through the air entered his ear. He braced for impact.

_Clank!_

Behind his closed eyelids, his surroundings became darker. He opened his eyes to find he was crouching in a shadow. He looked up to see a figure silhouetted in the sun, blocking the axe with a slender, glowing object. Its dress billowed along behind it, and a ribbon tied into its hair flowed along with the long hair. In its right hand, it clutched a long, glowing white needle that took the form of a rapier.

"I'll let no one touch Ein!" the figure cried, before lashing out at the previous dark figure.

Green flowed into Ein's eyes, and he recognized his savior quickly. "Fia!" he exclaimed.

With a grace and speed that Ein hadn't seen in her before, Fia danced around the figure, parrying and attacking with her new rapier. After a couple minutes, she jumped into the air and brought her rapier down like a sword. The figure parried it, and with a thrust, pushed Fia backwards through the air.

"My resolve shall prevail…" Fia chanted quietly as she flipped through the air. "Divine Punishment!" she shouted as she landed on her feet.

Fia launched back at the figure, which still hadn't fully recovered from the thrust yet. Her body glowed a soft white that rolled off her in small waves. The rapier extended, adding a small amount to her attack range. She executed several thrusts at the figure, and when some thrusts hit the axe, it shattered. After the tenth blow, she back flipped through the air, landing a small distance away. She spun around, holding the rapier out, and after a split second, a large shard of light emerged out of nowhere and smashed into the figure, splitting it in half.

The rapier returned to its original size, and Fia twirled the rapier and sheathed it at her side. "Whew…" she breathed. The split figure disappeared into specks of dark matter, and dispersed into the air. Fia walked over to Ein's side and checked his wound. "Wow, Fia, that was amazing!" Ein, who was gaping the whole time, exclaimed, completely forgetting about his wound for a moment. "Where did you get that rapier from?"

"That can wait," Fia responded. "You got hit pretty badly, Ein."

Ein looked down at his shoulder to find the wound still bleeding. He clutched it again in pain. "Yeah… Thanks for coming, Fia…"

"Er, don't worry about it," Fia answered, a hint of pink appearing on her cheeks. "Here, let me wrap that up."

"Ugh…" Ein sat down near a tree and leaned heavily on it. He pulled off his shirt, making Fia glance away quickly.

Fia reached into a pocket in her dress and pulled out a potion. "Here, drink up!" she told him, and handed him the bottle. Ein downed a mouthful of the flask, and part of the wound disappeared. Fia pulled out a long, white piece of cloth and wrapped it around Ein's wound, tying the ends together to hold it in place.

"Thanks so much, Fia." Ein smiled up at her. "I'd probably be dead if you hadn't come along."

"Um, don't mention it," Fia stammered. "Does it hurt?"

"Not really," Ein replied. "Say, Fia, about last night…"

"Do you really like Rose?" Fia suddenly blurted.

"Eh? Uh, as a friend and companion, yes." Ein looked away, face burning up. He could hear his heart beating in his chest. "But that's not really love, is it?"

"So…" Fia dropped to her knees, face in her hands. "Ah! Ein, I'm so sorry! I misunderstood…"

"It's okay, Fia." Ein turned back to her. "And I'm sorry about this morning."

"You're forgiven already," Fia answered. She suddenly leapt up into Ein's arms, taking him by surprise, and sobbed on his bare chest. "I… I still…"

Ein pulled her close and closed his eyes. Summoning his confidence, he took a deep breath. "Fia, I… you're… you're the one I love."

Fia pulled away a bit and looked up at him. Tears welled up in her eyes. "R-really?" Her voice trembled as she spoke.

"Yeah…" Ein opened his eyes slightly and smiled down at her. "I love you, Fia."

"I-I love you too…" Fia closed her eyes and tilted her head back. Ein followed up by leaning down and kissing her on the lips. For what felt like an eternity, they remained locked in the passionate embrace. Fia slipped her hands around Ein's neck, and Ein's hands stayed on her back.

After about a minute, Ein gently broke away. "So this is what you've wanted to tell me all this time?" he asked, smiling.

Fia nodded. "Ein… I'm so happy…" She gave him a gentle, teary-eyed smile. "I'm so happy that you share the same feelings…"

"I am too, Fia." Ein smiled back down for a second before pressing his lips against hers again. _Sweeter than I expected,_ he thought.

Fia broke the kiss gently but reluctantly. "Why don't we continue this later?" she suggested. "You better get some rest, or your wound won't heal." She put a finger on her lip where she'd made contact with Ein. _Tastes so good…_ A hint of a smile came onto her face.

"Yeah, you're right." Ein picked up his shirt, then wrinkled his nose. "Darn, that thing ripped a hole in my shirt, and now there's blood all over it too…"

"Who was that anyway?" Fia asked. "Seems like he wanted to kill you."

"I have no idea," Ein answered. "Must be one of Orion's minions."

"Could be." Fia linked her arm in his. "Come on, let's go." She pulled him in the direction of the village.

"That way? I knew it!" Ein exclaimed. "Lina played another trick on me!"

"What did she do?" Fia asked, surprised.

"She… oh, forget it." Ein smiled. "Just another of her small tricks."

"Um, okay." Fia smiled back, and the two made their way back to the village, where a late lunch was waiting for them.

---

"Huh? You say something attacked you?"

Ein nodded in affirmation to Rose's question. "Probably one of Orion's minions. He got me defenseless too."

Ein and Fia had arrived at the house, and were now talking to Rose and Ledah in the living room.

"And then you jumped in and saved him." Rose nodded at Fia, who nodded back.

"Seems like this Orion is some dirty player," Ledah remarked. "Attacking in broad daylight, though… doesn't that seem a bit odd?"

"He could be stupid, or really good," Rose speculated. "At least it wasn't in your sleep, or you'd be dead."

Ein shook at the thought. "Yeah…"

"Well, are you feeling better now, Ein?" Fia asked. She rubbed at his shoulders. Ein just nodded.

"Say, Fia, what's that rapier you got there?" Rose pointed at the glowing white sword sheathed at Fia's side.

"This?" Fia pulled the rapier out. "I call it the Needle of Light. It's the most powerful rapier there is so far."

"My, my, doesn't that look interesting…" Rose plucked the rapier from Fia's hands. "It's like Ein's new weapon, but I'd say Ein's is more powerful by far."

"That's true." Fia continued her caresses across Ein, who trembled gently. "It's a divine rapier I found in a temple somewhere."

"A temple somewhere?" Ledah gave her a sideways glance. "You don't happen to remember which temple?"

"Um…" Fia thought for a moment. "Not really…"

"Well, that's okay." Rose set the rapier down on the table. "It's gonna be a big help to us."

"Yeah," Ein spoke up. "Without Oracion, I'm completely defenseless."

"Looks like Ein's got a weakness!" Rose teased. "Better not let it get taken from you, you hear?"

"I know, I know." Ein got up and headed for the kitchen. "I'm kinda hungry. Anyone up for some lunch?"

"Sure." Ledah got up and helped Rose to her feet. The two of them followed Ein. Fia stayed behind.

"I just ate not too long ago," Fia explained. "I'm not really hungry."

"Okay," Ein answered.

As the three of them entered the kitchen, Fia leaned back in the couch. _A misunderstanding… I should have known…_ she thought. _So Ein does love me…_ A smile came onto her lips. _I hope we can be happy together…_

In the kitchen, Ein quickly threw together three sandwiches with Coco's help. Coco grabbed three cups from the cupboard and filled them with applecot juice.

"Okay, all ready!" Ein stacked the sandwiches on a tray and brought it over to the table. Coco brought the cups to the table one by one, and then went back to her cleaning.

"Thanks, Ein." Ledah picked up a sandwich and bit into it. "Take it easy with the mayonnaise," he commented.

Rose bit into her own sandwich. "Yeah, just a little. And a sandwich isn't a sandwich without fish."

"Heh…" Ein rubbed the back of his head. "I'll remember that. But fish?"

"Yeah, a little bit of fishy in a sandwich makes it taste better!" Rose explained.

"Fishy?" Ledah glanced at Rose, who giggled. "Well, I'm not such a big fan of fish…"

"Hey, I used to be a cat, okay?" Rose protested. "At least, pretty close to one."

"That's all in the past," Ein replied. "You're not a cat anymore." He bit and chewed thoughtfully. Swallowing, he continued, "A cat?"

"Well, cat-like, okay?" Rose propped an elbow onto the table, sitting facing sideways. "I still liked fish, well sort of."

"I see." Ledah made a small mental note as he finished up his sandwich. "I feel a bit strange being so relaxed at a time like this." He sipped the applecot juice. "It's good," he said.

"I guess you're right, but what can we do?" Ein asked. "Might as well let them come at us. We're not looking for a fight, they are. We're looking to defend Riviera, and attacking them in Asgard is different than that." He took in a mouthful of the juice.

"Well, we should at least spar a bit," Ledah argued. "These are Grim Angels coming after us. A team of demons was easy for you, but you can't fight a bunch of Grim Angels at once, even with your new power."

"I guess not…" Ein sipped the juice thoughtfully. Rose just sat back and listened. "It would be a good idea to train. If each of us could take on a Grim Angel alone, then we're good to go, but…"

"I doubt that. Maybe you could, and I might be able to, but I don't think the girls can." Ledah curled his hands around the cup, staring into it. "Divide and conquer?" he suggested.

"It might have to come down to that," Ein agreed. "We'll have to take them on one at a time, together."

"If we can do that, then we should be able to win, but it also means repeated battling," Ledah added. "Could we maybe take on more than one at a time?"

"Hm, possibly," Ein answered. "Maybe two or three at a time, but three at most."

"The odds are still stacked, don't you think?" Ledah asked. "Maybe if we could get some of them on our side…"

"That's a good strategy too," Ein said. "Our main goal isn't really to fight, it's to prevent the destruction of Riviera. We can still accomplish that goal if we don't kill every Grim Angel in sight, don't you think?"

"Yeah, that's what I'm saying." Ledah finished up the juice and set the cup aside, along with Rose's cup. "We need to look for the Grim Angels who seem to lack purpose or who seem to be suspicious of Orion, like you were with Hector. Asking them to defect to our side shouldn't be that hard."

"And we only defeat the Grim Angels who follow Orion with utmost loyalty, is that it?" Ein chugged down the rest of his juice before continuing. "Sounds like a good plan."

"Remember what Ursula did with you?" Ledah asked. "She gave you amnesia and had you live with the sprites for a while, right?"

"Yeah, but I can't lock memories like she can," Ein replied. "We'd have to show them how the sprites live with their memories and their mission still present."

"That's right," Ledah affirmed. "It might be dangerous."

"Might be? It's going to be!" Ein exclaimed. "But what other choice do we have? Kill every last one of them?"

"If you're confident you can, then you could try that, but do you have any idea how big their army is?"

Ein shook his head. "No, but it can't be too big, right? You can't just recruit to become a Grim Angel. It takes more than an average being to become one."

"I don't know either, but you're right for that part," Ledah agreed. "I suppose we're going to have to get some to defect to our side. Each one we get on our side will raise our odds significantly."

"Do you think we could, um, get some of the girls to seduce them onto our side?" Ein suggested jokingly.

"Wha?" Rose sprang up. "Ein! You perv!" She smacked Ein on the back of the head, and Ein stopped his head just before it hit the table.

"I was joking! Joking!" Ein held his hands up, grinning. "It would be a desperate last-attempt move, though, right?"

"If there are perverts in their army, it might work," Ledah remarked. "But you know what? I seriously doubt there can be too many of them."

"So it probably won't work too well." Ein rubbed the back of his head where Rose had smacked him. "Maybe a 50-50 chance at best, but we'll keep that plan at the end, where nothing else would work."

"The fact that you're even considering it makes me sick," Rose exclaimed. "Geez, Ein! And you too, Ledah!"

"Huh? Me?" Ledah raised an eyebrow. "I'm just stating facts, you know."

"You're still thinking about it!" Rose poked Ledah in the side, but he showed no reaction. "Sheesh…"

"How come he doesn't get hurt as much as I-"

"Shut up!" Rose shouted, making Ein cringe. "I… ah, forget it." She stormed off towards the living room, leaving her cup on the table. "Always was a pervert, still a pervert, always will be a pervert…" she mumbled.

"Um, what's with her?" Ein asked after Rose left.

"You're better off not knowing, Ein." Ledah got up and brought the cups and plate to the sink. "Don't worry about it." He ruffled Ein's hair, smiling softly, and left the kitchen, leaving Ein gaping after him.

--

A/N: Fishy! Ah, that word brings back memories. My crazy friend would bring his English-Chinese translator to school once in a while, and plug in random things to make it speak. One of his all-time favorites was/is "A lot of fishy." He'd add stuff and take stuff out here and there, of course. Ya know, stuff like, "I eat a lot of fishy!" or "wtf, why is there a lot of fishy?" (When you put wtf into the translator, it actually comes out as "duboyu tee eff," but I think lol comes out as "lawl") Yeah, when I say crazy, I mean it XD

Anyway, getting back on track, I honestly don't know what Rose likes to eat. From what I'm having her eat, she's definitely not a cat. Cats are actually carnivores, so they don't eat any kind of vegetable or grains. Rose ate a sandwich, so that proves she's not a cat… but I wonder if her eating habits change with her transformation into a sprite? Now that complicates things a lot. Instead of uselessly debating it with myself, I'm gonna leave it at that XD.

Oh, and yes, thy mishundershtanding ish offishally sholved! (Yes, typos are intentional XD) Wait, solved? More like resolved. Yeah… Anyway, I feel happy for them too, even though I'm the author XD. Ah, and the mental note that Ledah made… I'm sure someone's going to ask. The note is simply "Rose likes fish" or something similar. That should clear it up XD

On the next chapter of The White Wings…

Chapter 19: A Short Training Session (Release on September 17, 2006)

After drinking juice together, Ein and Fia go off to a grassy field to spar. Ein's new sword wreaks havoc, and Fia's strength is zapped by Oracion…


	19. A Short Training Session

I learned something new today! At karaoke, people kept telling me how I was singing really high, specifically, one octave higher. And to be honest, I thought I was singing fine… but when I lowered my voice by an octave, they said it was perfect. It's really weird how your head can make you hear your own voice differently than how it really sounds.

Bleh, no work done at all on this fic over this week. Seriously, this fic's gonna grind to a halt a couple chapters down the road, where I'll have to take to updating ASAP instead of updating weekly. Reeaallyy sorry about that, but hey, it's my last year in high school, so it's taking up all my time… summer's really too short XD

Rambling done! Welcome to chapter 19 of The White Wings (it IS 19, right? Yeah, it is XD). I don't think I'll be writing epics like this one anymore. I just lose interest some time down the story… but then again, it's rude to quit in the middle of writing a fic. I hate it when others do that, so others hate it when I do that. Golden Rule… ah, the ultimateness XD. Anyway, enjoy this mainly ExF chapter!

--

Ein entered the living room, holding two cups of applecot juice, to find Fia sitting neatly on the couch. He handed her one of the cups and sat down beside her. Fia smiled and thanked him for the juice.

"Rose just ran off a couple minutes ago," Ein announced, drinking a mouthful of juice. "I don't know what got into her."

"I saw her run off," Fia replied. "I guess it makes sense that you wouldn't know what's happening."

"Huh?" Ein lowered his cup and peered at Fia. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Fia grinned sheepishly. "No, nothing! Forget I said that."

After a short pause, Ein looked ahead again. "Ooo kay…"

Fia looked at him and giggled softly. When Ein looked back at her, all he saw was her drinking her juice.

"Got any ideas for fighting Orion?" Ein asked. "We came up with a couple of ideas, but most aren't that good."

"Me? Not really…" Fia lowered her cup and ran her finger along the rim lightly. "Though I've been thinking…"

"Huh?"

"Remember what you said that time you rescued me?" Fia blushed lightly at the memory. "'Seduce the enemies to death'?"

Ein looked down into his cup, blushing. "Uh, yeah…"

Fia looked at him and giggled again. "You think we could put that to good use now?"

Ein stared at her. "What?"

"I don't know…" Fia turned her head away. "What else can we do?"

"Well, I discussed with Ledah and Rose, and one idea we came up with was to have some of the Angels live with us Sprites, like what Ursula did with me," Ein explained. "Maybe we can persuade some of them to defect to our side that way, or at least make them take a neutral stance."

Fia nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I see what you're saying." She sipped the juice. "That's chance work, though, right?"

"And seductive dances aren't?" Ein countered, then looked away to hide his blush. "Um, I mean…"

Fia rested a hand on Ein's shoulder with a smile. "Yeah, you're right. We can't get anywhere without a little luck, huh?"

"I-I guess not…"

Fia said nothing as she finished up her juice.

"Um, Fia?"

"Yes?" Fia set her cup down on the table and got to work with another massage.

"What about we, uh, let the seduction thing be, um, a last resort kind of thing?" Ein relaxed under Fia's fingers.

"Sure, we can do that." Fia rested her head on Ein's back. "But you know what?"

"What?"

"Don't mention the seduction thing to the other girls," Fia teased. "In their eyes, you're still a pervert, and even mentioning seduction won't help."

Ein's head drooped down. "Uh, yeah…"

Fia worked her hands for a few more minutes before getting up. "What say we do a bit of training?"

Ein sat up and stretched. "Yeah, let's." He reached for Oracion.

"Uh, Ein, don't you think that's kind of out of my league?" Fia asked, grinning. "I'm not asking you to kill me, okay?"

"I'm not quite used to the sword yet, either," Ein answered, grinning back. "Don't worry, I have another sword with me."

"Another sword, you say." Fia rubbed her chin. "Wonder what kind of sword?"

"You'll see soon enough." Ein picked up Oracion and flipped it into the air, allowing it to land in the sheath on his back effortlessly. "Let's go."

As they walked to a secluded grassy area near the grove, Fia took Ein's arm. Ein gave her a puzzled look, but she just smiled.

When they reached the field of grass, Ein pulled a sword out from inside his shirt and held it out for Fia to see. She stared at it blankly. "An… Iron Sword?"

"Nuh-uh," Ein replied. "Its design just looks like one. This is a mysterious sword, and the powers it holds are still unknown. I want to try to unlock that power." Ein tossed the sword in Fia's direction, and it landed tip-down, sticking out of the ground in front of her. "Take a look."

Fia tugged lightly at the sword, and it came out easily. The blade was surprisingly light, lighter than an Iron Sword. She whipped it around a few times, slicing through the grass. "There's an odd energy emanating from this blade…" she murmured thoughtfully. She raised the sword over her head and thrust it into the earth. Half-expecting the ground to break apart, Ein backed away a couple paces, then relaxed.

"What kind of power?" Ein asked as he walked over to where Fia was standing. She had pulled the blade back out of the ground and began to study it, running her hand along the smooth blade.

"I… I'm not sure." Fia handed the blade to Ein. "We should maybe ask Claude later. He might know." She pulled the Needle of Light out from her sheath. "Why don't you train with it? That's how we usually unlock powers."

"Yeah, you're right." Ein held the sword at his side, blade pointing out. "Okay, ready when you are."

"I get to make the first move?" Fia teased. "Okay, here I come!" She leapt through the air, twisting sideways and building up power for a thrust.

Ein crouched down and raised his sword. Fia thrust her rapier at him, turning her body to create a smaller target for him. Ein pushed the rapier to the side with the sword and whirled around her, slashing upwards and to the side. Fia blocked the slash and used the force generated to push herself back a couple meters.

Ein felt energy flowing into him. He glanced to the side to see Oracion glowing, its light entering Ein. The light resonated with the sword in Ein's hands, making it glow as well. Ein stared at the sword, puzzled. Fia walked over to where he was standing and watched as the two swords resonated with energy.

"It seems like Oracion is unlocking the power of that sword," Fia pointed out. "Why don't we rest and let them work?"

"I feel like we barely started sparring, though," Ein protested. "But I'm curious to see what happened, too. Okay, let's wait."

Putting the sword down, Ein sat down and leaned against a tree, watching the new sword glow brighter and brighter. Fia sat between his outstretched legs and leaned back against his chest, careful not to block his view. As they watched, the sword began to glow several different colors. Oracion was simply glowing white as usual.

After a couple moments, a wave of energy suddenly burst from the blade, blowing dust into the air. Ein and Fia shielded their eyes from the wind. When it died down, they both looked back at it curiously.

The sword levitated in the air, giving off a colorful aura. Its blade pointed upwards, and shone a brilliant array of colors. The aura disappeared, and the blade turned down, falling to the ground. It stuck straight out of the ground.

"What kind of aura was that?" Ein wondered, approaching the sword carefully. "I didn't recognize it…" He pulled the sword out and studied it.

"Demon Destroyer," Fia murmured.

Ein gave her a confused look. "What?"

"Demon Destroyer," Fia repeated. She took the sword from his hands. "The sword of legend, wielded by a powerful warrior. The legend says the warrior destroyed exactly 1000 demons."

"1000?" Ein stared skeptically at the sword. "Most of the weapons we use break after less than 50 uses."

"Your diviner doesn't," Fia argued. "The blade isn't made of Orihalcon, but it is forged from a metal of the same strength."

Ein rubbed his chin. "But, what use do we have for a demon killer?" he asked. "There aren't any more demons to fight."

"I never said it was forged to fight only demons," Fia stated. "I'm sure it could come in handy…"

The sword suddenly began to give off another aura. The light seeped through Fia's skin, and her eyes blanked out. "Huh? Fia?" Ein asked, worried. "Um, what's going on?"

As if in a trance, Fia swung the blade downwards in Ein's direction. Quick reflexes caused him to quickly roll out of the way towards Oracion, which had begun to glow, too.

"Fia, stop it!" Fia didn't listen, and swung the blade in his direction, her speed growing each second. Ein parried the blows, gliding backwards with each hit. He glanced backwards and saw that he was being pushed almost to the trees. After a parry, he quickly leapt up and shot into the air. Fia saw him fly off and leapt up after him, sword glowing colorfully at the tip.

"Hyaa!" Fia cried as she thrust the sword upwards. A blast of colorful energy shot towards Ein, who stared in shock. The energy hit Ein head on and dissipated, leaving a cloud. When the smoke cleared, Ein could be seen floating in the air, head lowered, both hands gripping Oracion in front of him.

Oracion resonated with light, which Ein channeled into his body. He raised his head slowly, then shot downwards at Fia. With a powerful blow, he knocked the sword out of Fia's hands. Fia's eyes flew open in surprise, and then her body went limp and began to fall to the side.

Ein dropped his weapon and caught Fia in his arms. He gently lowered her to the ground, resting her body on the grass. "Fia, are you alright?" he asked, gently caressing her cheek.

"Mmb…" Fia mumbled, and opened her eyes slightly. "Wha… what happened?"

"I'm not sure," Ein replied. "You seemed to be possessed by that sword, and then you just attacked me."

"Huh?" Fia turned to see the sword lying on the ground a small distance from her. "Possessed, huh?"

"You didn't say anything about that effect," Ein said. "Is there anything about the weapon possessing its user in the legend?"

"I don't think so," Fia answered after a short pause. "It's possible though…"

"Apparently so, because you were just a little while ago," Ein said thoughtfully. "I wonder if we'll be able to control the sword?"

"A sword that possesses its user…" Fia murmured, lost in thought. "We really ought to show Claude."

"We can do that later," Ein replied. He picked up the sword. "What do we need to do to be able to control it?"

"I have no idea… But if we dispel the possessive force, then we might lose the sword's powers, right?"

"What say we ask it to fight on our side?" Ein suggested jokingly. "Hey, sword, want to fight for us?"

Fia giggled. "I don't know if that's going to work…"

"What other choice do we have?" Ein sat down again, holding the sword up to the sky. Its blade reflected a dazzling array of colors. "We could just not use it, I guess. It's not like we can kill demons with it."

"Hey, don't forget those diviners," Fia reminded him. "Diviners were forged to fight demons. Skadi was a diviner too, even if it was fake, but Malice killed off a whole race of sprites with it."

"So it's not to say the sword can only fight demons, right?" Ein finished with a sigh and sheathed the sword inside his cloak. "Let's ask Claude about it later."

"So now what?" Fia grinned. "I can't spar with you if you've only got Oracion, right? You could defeat me with one swing of that thing."

"Well, I think it's a bit strange to be sparring using any other weapon, because Oracion's going to be my weapon of choice most of the time…" Ein pushed with his wings and glided over to where the sword lay. He picked up the sword, which had lost its glow. "I need to adjust to this. Its ultra-light weight means my weight is thrown off, and I could be caught off-balance."

"Do you think I could use that sword?" Fia asked. "The best I could do with Einherjar was throw it, though…"

"Why don't you try?" Ein handed her Oracion, and she held it up over her head.

"It's really light!" Fia exclaimed. She whipped the blade in circles. "You have a point about the weight thing. Couldn't you use your wings to balance?"

"Probably, but I need to practice, you know." Ein lay down on the grass and looked up at the sky with his hands behind his head. "It's not too long before they attack, now."

"Let me see if I can harness the power here…" Fia dropped into a battle stance and closed her eyes, focusing on the blade. She felt her energy flow, and the sword began to glow softly. After a moment, her eyes snapped open, and she lashed out with the blade. A light green flash of energy emitted from the blade, slicing through a tree, which fell over.

"Ah…" Fia dropped to her knees and gasped. "I…"

Ein leapt to his feet. "What's wrong?" He ran to her side and caught her just as she began to fall. "Fia!"

Fia smiled at him weakly. "Ein, that blade… zapped my strength… nngg…" She closed her eyes. "I don't think… I can use that sword."

"Fia…" Ein lowered her limp body to the grass. "Get some rest, okay?" _Poor Fia… she seems to need to rest so much lately…_

He sat down on the grass next to her, watching her sleeping face and debating what to do next. For a couple minutes, he simply sat there, caressing her face gently.

After a while, Ein got up and lifted Fia into his arms. He then glided into the air in the direction of the house.

--

A/N: Hmm, so Fia's got a self-sacrificing attack with Oracion. Honestly, that idea came to my head on the spot. In other words, I wasn't planning for that XD. But hey, it's better than her stupid throw attack with Einherjar, which all the girls use the same way…

A rainbow sword that possesses its user! Now that's interesting XD. I'm introducing so many new weapons, it's getting hard to keep track of 'em all… I'm planning to introduce a new weapon for each of the lv 3 classes. By that I mean sword, rapier, scythe, bow, and staff (corresponds to each of the party members). And oddly enough, all the weapons will be much lighter than usual… which isn't always good, but they aren't weapons that rely on weight, after all, like a chained ball does.

On the next chapter of The White Wings…

Chapter 20: A Tour of the Village part 1 (Release on September 24, 2006)

LxR chapter. Ledah catches up with Rose after she runs off and manages to calm her down. After a romantic scene at the Grove of Repose, Rose decides to show Ledah around the village. While at Kyle and Mylene's house, they try to teach the kids some new vocabulary…


	20. A Tour of the Village part 1

Must find time to write! Seriously, this work is catching up to me. If I don't finish another chap this week, I won't be able to do a chapter preview next week… and then the update date will be "asap," heh XD

Anyway! I live with just my mom, and she's in China until Oct 9th. Which would be awesome if I didn't have to do all the chores for her XD. At least I'm not paying the bills… at least I don't think I have to XD

Chapter 20! This story's really come a long way, hasn't it? And yet, it's only day 3… maybe I write too much filler, haha XD. Anyway, enjoy the LxR romance!

--

"Rose! Relax, will ya?"

Ledah, airborne, chased after Rose, who was running on the ground with no particular destination in mind. He caught up with her quickly, stopping her by landing in her path. She breathed heavily.

"Are you… taking after Ein?" Rose asked between breaths. "You're… becoming a pervert too?"

Ledah wasn't breathing quite as heavily. "No, I'm not. I was just stating facts, like I said!"

"I almost expect you to state that you're a perv," Rose said sarcastically and sighed. "I don't know why I ran like that…"

"Me neither," Ledah replied. "Come on, relax." Holding onto her hand, he led her to the grove, which wasn't very far away.

"I guess I was just afraid that you were becoming a pervert too," Rose said after a moment of silence. "But I still feel like there's some hidden meaning…" They arrived, and Rose quickly found herself sitting under a tree with Ledah beside her.

"Don't think about it too much," Ledah chided. "You'll get wrinkles on your pretty face."

Rose chuckled. "I'm not _that_ old…"

"Old or not, you'll get wrinkles if you worry too much."

"If you say so." Rose rested her head on Ledah's shoulder and sighed again, relaxing. "It feels weird for you to be talking to me now. Shouldn't you be training?"

"There's time for training and time for rest," Ledah answered with a gentle smile. "Don't worry about me. I train all the time."

"Oh, do you?" Rose stroked his cheek tenderly. "I never see you training…"

"Training takes many forms," Ledah explained. "Though I think that what we should be doing the most is preparing to have some Angels stay in Elendia."

"You think so?" Rose pulled her knees up to her chest. Her tail danced playfully behind her. "Is it a good plan, though?"

"I don't think we have much choice," Ledah replied. "I do think that Orion's Angel army lacks unity, though, and we just might be able to take advantage of that."

"Izzat so…" Rose rested her chin on her knees, tracing circles on the ground with a finger. "That means we should be able to pull a few out of the army, right?"

"I think so." Ledah leaned his head back and breathed in the fresh air, looking up at the clear sky. Clouds scattered around the sky, and the sun shone brightly. "I think we should be enjoying our last few moments of peace though. It might be a while until we have peace again."

"Yeah, you're right." Rose let her knees slip back out and lay down, resting her head on Ledah's lap. "I really like this peace. I can't forgive anyone who even tries to take it away from us."

"I think the same," Ledah replied, glancing down at her. "Is there a reason you don't fight?"

"You could say that." Rose grinned up at him. "The only reason why there wouldn't be peace is if people fight, right? If you killed someone, wouldn't someone else be crying?"

Ledah pondered her words. "Well, in a war, it's either you kill your enemy or he kills you. You make someone cry, or he does."

"Does that really help the fight at all?" Rose continued. "Kill because someone else was killed, and be killed because of killing? Does that kind of thing bring peace?"

Ledah was silent for a moment. "I think that's one of the reasons why we have a plan like the one we do."

"Yeah, I guess. At least we know that if we kill Orion, we'll have peace, even if it's only temporary…"

"You're saying there might be another Magus out there who might try to destroy Riviera?"

"Could be," Rose answered. "Or, there might be someone even higher, some evil mastermind who was controlling Orion himself, and maybe even Hector…"

"I don't know about that…" Ledah said. "We should look into it though, or we could be in for an endless battle for peace."

"Personally, I hope that doesn't happen," Rose whispered. "I really hate fighting… even when it's all around us."

"Yeah." Ledah stroked Rose's cheek gently. "I'll be sure to protect you." He leaned down until he was no more than an inch from her face, and looked into her eyes. "I swear my life on that." With that, his face drifted forward and his lips found hers. After being locked for a moment, Ledah drew his head back and looked down at Rose, who was now smiling softly.

"You don't need to swear your life on it… but I appreciate that." Rose reached up and caressed Ledah's soft cheek and smiled. "I'll do my best to protect you too… not in a fight, but everywhere else."

Ledah nodded despite the fact that he wasn't sure if he knew what she meant. "Okay."

Rose's hands reached up and curled around Ledah's neck, pulling him down into another kiss. "You don't have to be strong only for me, you know…"

Ledah could only nod as his lips locked with hers again. He found his hands on her back, holding her up. For a brief moment that he wished could last forever, he forgot about the many things that threatened the peaceful land where he lived, and focused on the girl whose head lay in his lap. Here was someone he cherished as much as she cherished him, someone who he was willing to die for, someone he loved more than anything. With her, he found only contentment. He squeezed his eyes shut and drank in Rose's taste.

Swimming through Rose's mind were only thoughts and memories of Ledah as she melted in his embrace. In Asgard, the two were always close, even though Ledah was a Grim Angel and Rose was Ein's familiar. Ledah had always been there to protect her. Being separated from him had caused her grief, though she hid it well. She had no doubt that he'd always be there to protect her now. He was someone she wanted to be with forever, someone she loved with all her being. Her eyes remained closed even after she drew away and sighed. The corners of her mouth curled upwards in a small smile, and her hands dropped away from Ledah's neck.

"I want to be strong for you, Rose," Ledah declared. "I need to be. I don't know if I can live without you…"

"I can easily say the same to you," Rose replied. "You complete me. Don't die out there, okay?"

"I promise." Ledah smiled again. "I won't let you die either."

"I won't let you let me die." Rose grinned. "There's still too much to do together."

"How could I possibly die knowing that?" Ledah glanced at her knowingly. "Oh, the responsibility…" He chuckled. "I won't let you down. I can't let down Ein either, actually."

Rose sat up and straddled Ledah as far up as she could, making him lean back into the tree. On her knees, she pressed close to him and brought her face near his. Their heat shared, their breath mingled. "I have full confidence that you won't." With that, she threw her arms around his neck once again and pressed her lips against his.

Ledah wrapped his arms around Rose protectively as he kissed her. _She's got me pinned here,_ he thought, slightly amused. He suddenly felt the stares of sprites on him. _I just remembered that we're in the grove… Oh well, it's not bad or anything to get it on in public…_ His eyes still closed, he ignored the stares and pushed a little deeper. He felt Rose's tongue enter his mouth and toyed with it for a couple seconds. Her tongue withdrew, and his followed.

Rose could feel the eyes of the sprites on her back too, but she didn't care. She focused her attention on Ledah. Her body relaxed and leaned heavily into him. The beats of his racing heart set her heart racing too, and soon she was feeling warmer than the surrounding air. After a few seconds of playing with Ledah's tongue, she broke away gently and looked around at the other sprites in the grove, who were staring at the two of them.

"Should we take a walk?" Rose asked, winking. She took a deep breath. "Come on."

"Feeling better now, are you," Ledah remarked, breathing in as well. "Okay, let's go." He allowed himself to be dragged out of the grove.

"Where are we going?" Ledah asked after a few minutes of walking in silence.

"Is it bad to take a walk with no particular destination?" Rose gave him a sideways glance, grinning. "Just walk around Elendia, see the places, talk to the sprites. There's a lot to do here."

Ledah just nodded. Since coming to Elendia a couple days ago, he hadn't seen much of the village or its people. He figured it would be nice to see the people before leaving to fight.

Rose dragged him along to Kyle and Mylene's house first. They found Mylene sitting on a wooden bench outside, and walked up to her. Gill and Molan were off playing in the yard.

"Mylene!" Rose greeted as she approached her, still dragging Ledah along behind her.

Mylene looked up. "Hi, Rose. And you are Ledah?"

Ledah nodded and bowed slightly. "It's a pleasure."

Mylene chuckled. "Oh no, the pleasure's all mine. What brings you here?"

_Pleasant,_ Ledah thought. "Rose here just decided to introduce me to the sprites in this village," he explained.

"Oh, and I'm first, I presume," Mylene finished. "Ein had told everyone a lot about you."

"He has?" Ledah blinked. "I, um, didn't know that."

Mylene laughed softly. "I didn't expect you to. Thank you for deciding to side with us, Ledah."

Ledah blinked again. "Um, you're welcome, I guess."

Rose patted Ledah on the back. "Yup. Ledah's a good guy, like Ein said, right?"

"I'm sure he is," Mylene replied. "Kyle's inside fixing the table, if you want to talk to him."

"I'm right here."

Mylene turned to see Kyle standing behind her, clad in a blue T-shirt covered with dirt stains and overalls, holding a hammer in one hand. "Oh, are you taking a break?" she asked.

"I suppose I am," Kyle answered. He set the hammer down on the porch. "I heard voices out here, so I came to take a look."

Rose cleared her throat. "Yeah, we just came by for a chat," she explained. "I'm taking Ledah around Elendia to talk to the sprites."

"Oh, that's nice of you." Kyle walked up to Ledah and shook his hand, grinning. "Nice ta meetcha."

"Nice to meet you too," Ledah replied with a smile. "I'm going to be fighting alongside Ein to protect Riviera."

"That's good," Kyle remarked. "I suppose we need more people like you." He turned to sit down by his wife. "I just wish we didn't."

"You mean you wish we didn't need people to fight to protect Riviera?" Ledah asked.

Kyle nodded. "A peaceful land like Riviera shouldn't need fighters to protect it."

Ledah scratched his head thoughtfully. "That's similar to something Rose said earlier."

"We sprites all share similar thoughts of peace," Rose said. "The kind of peace where we never have to fight, where we can all accept each other's existence."

"Sadly, though, people have to fight to defend that kind of utopia." Mylene shook her head. "Fighting isn't something people do in a place like the one we imagine."

"That's why all of us, who want to live out a peaceful existence, owe those of you who fight our lives," Kyle added. "You all fight for the kind of land we want."

"That's not completely true," Ledah argued. "That's the kind of land I want to create, too."

"Well, it's all for the better, then," Kyle commented. "If you fight for such a reason, you'll have full motivation to fight."

Ledah nodded thoughtfully. "I guess you're right."

"I think we'd best keep moving," Rose put in. "We still have the rest of the village to visit."

"That's fine," Mylene replied, smiling gently. "Do your best out there for us and for the land we want."

"We owe you our thanks," Kyle added. "If there's anything you ever need, come see us and we'll help in whatever way we can."

"Alright," Ledah said, nodding. "I appreciate that. Thank you too."

"Okay, let's go," Rose exclaimed, dragging Ledah off again. After a few seconds, she turned to him. "Want to go talk to their kids?" She pointed to the yard. "I think they're in there."

"Sure," Ledah replied. "You're the tour guide, so you lead on."

Rose giggled. "You don't have to put it that way…" She pulled him along into the yard to find Gill and Molan playing tag.

"Hey, Rose!" Gill shouted when he saw them. "Who's that, your boyfriend?"

"Whoa, Rose's boyfriend!" Molan joined in. "Rose has a boyfriend who has black wings!"

Rose blushed. "Uh, this is Ledah."

A hint of red came onto Ledah's face too. "Huh? Boyfriend?"

"Nevermind," Rose mumbled to him. "Want to play with them for a bit?"

"Play…?" Ledah looked skeptical. "Play as in… play?"

"No duh!" Rose exclaimed. "Let out the kid in you!"

"Kid? Me?" Ledah's face looked blank. "Um, what the heck are you talking about?"

"Ah, whatever." Rose walked over to Gill. "Want to show Ledah your sword skills?"

"Sure!" Gill ran over to a tree and pulled out a wooden stick. "This is the will of the Gods!" he shouted, swinging the stick wildly.

"Go Gill!" Molan cheered. "Kill those demons!"

Ledah walked over to Rose, who was grinning. "What's he doing?"

"Take a look," Rose answered, pointing. "Gill here takes after Ein. Ein's like a hero to him."

Ledah watched silently for a minute. Gill leapt into the air and drove the stick down. "Hya!" he yelled, pushing the stick an inch into the ground. "Take that!" He pulled the stick out and thrust it forward in a mock stab.

"Yay!" Molan clapped. "Gill rocks!"

"Ein really is a hero among the sprites here," Ledah murmured.

"You got that right!" Rose poked him in the side. "The kids revere him. They want to be just like him." She pulled out Lorelei from its sheath and handed it to him. "Come on, show them some of your skills too!"

"You want me to fight them?" Ledah asked incredulously.

Rose laughed. "No, just slash around at the air like Gill was."

"Um, I don't know…"

"Ledah's putting on a show?" Gill cried. "Go Ledah!" He tossed the stick aside and sat down next to Molan.

"Yay!" Molan cheered.

Ledah sighed. "Okay, here goes…"

Ledah lifted off to hover a few inches off the ground. He twirled Lorelei in his hands a couple times, then slashed horizontally left and right and finished off with a piercing stab. It was his favorite combo. He used it often during his early travels with Ein.

"Whoa, Ledah looks so cool!" Molan cheered. Gill soon joined in. "Come on, more! More!"

"Eh…" Ledah blushed and looked around. He saw Rose smiling, encouraging him on. "Okay, okay." He closed his eyes for a moment to channel his power. When he opened them, a red aura formed around Lorelei, and he lashed out again. "Burn in the flames of judgment! Crimson Courrages!" He muttered the words so the others couldn't hear, but he felt he had to utter the words or he couldn't pull off the attack. He flew a little higher and slashed diagonally several times, then lifted backwards at a small angle to the ground, finishing off with a horizontal slash that produced flames, which spread outwards from the slash a short distance.

"Whoa!" Gill exclaimed. The two kids clapped enthusiastically. "Do you think I can do that?"

"You can try, kid." Ledah grinned and ruffled his hair. "To add elemental properties to your attacks takes practice, though."

"Elemenal perties?" Gill cocked his head to the side and put a finger to his chin. "What's elemenal perties? Some kind of party?"

Rose chuckled as she moved towards them. "Elemental properties, Gill. El-leh-men-tal praw-per-tees. It means to add something like fire to your attack."

"Fire? Attack? Dwah?" Molan's eyes glazed over. "Molan doesn't understand…"

_Oh no, Lina's habits are rubbing off on her…_ Rose thought. "Don't worry about that," she assured her. "I don't think you'll need to know about stuff like that."

"Elemental… properties…" Gill said slowly. "Elemental properties!" He began to dance around.

"Uh, forget I said anything…" Ledah put a hand behind his head sheepishly. "You shouldn't need to know something like that."

"Elemental… huh?" Gill stopped in his tracks and stared at Ledah.

"Don't worry about it," Ledah repeated. "If you really want to practice, then just stick with what you're doing right now."

"But you were so cool!" Gill exclaimed. "You shot _fire_ from your spear!"

Ledah smiled weakly. "Uh, like I said, that takes practice. Don't focus on the advanced stuff before the basics."

"Advanced? Basics? Awooo?" Molan's eyes showed that she wasn't registering a thing he said.

"You're not helping, Ledah," Rose said slyly. "Hey, Mylene!"

Mylene looked up from the garden. "Yes?"

"Entertain the kids!" Rose yelled. "We're having trouble here!"

"Entertain?" Molan fainted.

"Aack… Help, Mylene!"

"Okay." Mylene got up and headed over to where they stood. "Who wants ice cream?"

"Yeah! I do, I do!" Gill jumped up and down.

"En…ter…tain…" Molan's dizzied voice drifted to Rose and Ledah, who decided to take the chance to sneak away. Rose nodded gratefully at Mylene before leaving. Mylene just smiled gently.

Once they were out of earshot, Rose turned to Ledah and grinned. "Er, was that a good idea?"

"I don't think so," Ledah replied. "After that experience, though, I can tell we need more experience before we should have kids…"

Rose's heart skipped a beat, and her face flushed red. "L-Ledah! W-wuh-what the heck are you saying?"

"Oh, nothing." Ledah winked at her. "You're cute when you blush like that."

"Huh?" Rose's hands flew to her face. "I…"

Ledah chuckled. "Come on, don't you have a tour to give me, miss tour guide?"

"I… uh… yeah!" Rose pulled Ledah along again, turning her face away so he couldn't see. "Um, next is, uh, the blacksmith!" Ledah could only chuckle again as he got dragged along.

--

A/N: Yep, new vocab! I meant it purely as comic relief, yep. Most of you readers should know what they mean, but hm… how old are the kids, anyway?

I don't know how the plan they have in mind will work out. It worked on Ein, so… I dunno XD

These romance scenes are getting steadily more and more sexual. I'll try to keep it within the T rating, of course XD. But I wonder if readers notice stuff like that… hm, touchy topic. Anyway…

On the next chapter of The White Wings (by the way, I was totally out of ideas on what to name the chapter… can anyone think of a better one based on the preview?)…

Chapter 21: The Golden Rod (Release on October 1, 2006)

Serene plays around with Lina's dreams. Afterwards, the two of them go to Fia and Lina's house to find Ein and Fia to train together, not knowing Fia's condition. Meanwhile, Cierra and Soala are brewing up a strange potion, and Soala has a new staff to give Cierra…


	21. The Golden Rod

Well, that's that. I don't know when I'll next update, so don't ask… I'll do my best to update as soon as I can, tho', so don't start flaming me just yet. I beg forgiveness, mostly because I've been so busy with school that I'd found no time to write at all for about four weeks…

Anyway, here is the last regular update to The White Wings: chapter 21! Fun little SxL segment at the beginning, then we get into more of the plot. The next new weapon's also introduced in this chapter, and I'm pretty sure most of you can guess what it is, heh heh. Well, enjoy!

--

Serene woke up slowly. Her aching side muscles reminded her of what had happened earlier. She looked outside to find the sun still high in the sky. Rubbing her eyes, she looked beside her to find Lina sleeping with her head on Serene's chest, with an arm around her waist.

Serene chuckled silently. _She fell asleep tickling me?_ She gently stroked Lina's cheek and smiled. _Even cuter when she's asleep…_ She tucked Lina's hair behind her ear and relaxed on the bed, wondering how she'd been pulled up the stairs.

Beside her, Lina stirred slightly. Serene draped her own arm over Lina and snaked her other arm under, pulling Lina into an embrace. "Serene… Lina wuvs yew…" Lina mumbled in her sleep.

Serene chuckled again. _What's she dreaming about now,_ she wondered. She decided to play with Lina's dream a little, squeezing her a little tighter. "I wuv yew too, Lee-na," she whispered.

Serene saw a faint smile come onto Lina's face. Still asleep, Lina reached up and tried to plant one on Serene's cheek, but missed and kissed her on the nose instead. Serene's cheeks turned a light red and she, still smiling, smooched her back on the cheek.

"Mm mm…" Lina mumbled. "You, stay away… Serene is… Lina's…"

_Now I'm _really_ curious…_ Serene giggled quietly. _I hope she remembers so she can tell me later…_

Serene suddenly realized that both of them were mostly naked, besides her panties and Lina's bra. The blanket had been pushed to the side for some reason, and her exposed body felt a bit cold. She reached over Lina to pull the blanket over both of them, careful not to agitate Lina too much.

"Serene, it's so cold…" Lina's sleepy voice reached her ears again.

Serene thought for a moment, then replied, "You're naked. What do you expect? And the water is definitely going to be cold."

"Wah… Serene… give Lina some heat…"

"You have all my heat already." Serene pulled the blanket close, and under it, Lina snuggled closer. "Still too cold?"

"Turn on more hot water…"

Serene was puzzled. "Turn on hot water? I can boil water if you want."

"Wah, it's hot…"

"Um, sorry. Now what should I do?"

"Kick it higher… Yeah, that's it…"

_What the heck kinda dream is this?_ Serene wondered. "Uh, hya!"

"Yay… go Serene…"

Serene scratched her head in confusion. _Now I really don't know where this dream is going…_

"Mmb… give it back… thief…"

"You're not gettin' me without a fight!" Serene answered. "Take that! Hya!"

"Aha… it doesn't even hurt…"

Serene debated pinching Lina in the arm, but suppressed the urge. "Ugh… Here, you win."

"Yay… Now, you must receive punishment…"

Lina's eyes suddenly sprang open, and she tossed Serene into the air and tackled her playfully. Serene, surprised, didn't have enough time to brace herself for the impact, and had the wind knocked out of her. "Gah!"

Lina giggled. "Playing with Lina's dreams, Serene?" She straddled Serene's waist and leaned down, bringing their faces close together. "You meanie!"

Serene managed to recover after a moment. "How long were you awake?" She grinned sheepishly. "I had no idea."

Lina sat up and looked upwards, putting a finger to her chin. "Um, Lina doesn't remember!"

Serene scratched her head. "Do you remember what dream you were having? You said something about me being yours."

"Huh?" Lina lay down front down on Serene's bare chest. Her arms snaked under Serene's neck playfully. "Um, not really… Someone was trying to steal Serene from Lina or something."

Serene's arm draped over Lina's back. "I figured it was something like that…"

"Uh-huh." Lina reached up and kissed Serene on the cheek. "Lina missed before, right?"

Serene giggled. "Yeah." She poked Lina on the nose. "I didn't really mind though."

"Okay! But this time, it's the real thing!" Lina moved her head a bit and connected with Serene's lips. She closed her eyes as Serene responded.

Energy flowed through Serene as she kissed back. She found her hands roaming about Lina's bare body, and felt Lina's hands doing the same on her own body. Lina trembled first, and Serene soon followed. After a moment, Serene broke the kiss and pulled away. Their eyes opened, and Serene found herself staring into Lina's eyes for a few seconds.

"Mm, maybe that's enough for now," Serene remarked, breaking the silence. "We've been inside all day. Let's get some fresh air."

"Okay!" Lina jumped up and hopped off, heading for the stairs.

Serene stared for a second before yelling after her, "Uh, Lina, I think maybe you should put on some clothes first?"

Lina froze in mid-step for a second before turning around, grinning sheepishly. "Uh, oh yeah…"

After a few minutes of getting dressed and fixing their hair, the two of them went outside the house. Serene held onto Crescent Darkness, draped over her shoulder, while Lina carried Diana's bow.

"Training?" Lina asked. "Where?"

"We can just head to a field somewhere," Serene replied. "We need to train up. We'll be fighting again soon, and I'm pretty sure our skills aren't as good as they should be right now. Besides, it was a couple years ago that we fought last, right?"

"Uh, yeah." Lina tossed the bow into the air a couple times. "Okay then! So I get to shoot arrows at you, and you have to block them?"

"Uh, no?" Serene chuckled. "I'd rather not do that. It's not fair."

"But Serene can't use bows!"

"I know, okay?" Serene shook her head. "I'm not sure what kind of training we should do…"

"Why don't we join up with Ein and Fia?" Lina suggested. "And Ledah too, maybe."

"Okay, good idea." Serene turned around to lock the door, but couldn't find her key.

"Looking for this?" Lina tossed a key at Serene.

"Not again!" Serene cried. "How is it you can do that without me noticing!"

"Lina's sneaky, like she said before!" Lina chirped.

Serene sighed and locked the door. After pocketing the key, she turned around and took Lina's hand. Together, they headed off to Fia's house.

---

It was around mid-afternoon when Ein got back to the house. Rather than tucking Fia in bed for the third time in three days, he decided to place her on the living room couch. It was also by her request that he did so.

After standing around for a minute, Ein decided he needed to sit down. He lifted Fia's head a little and sat down, placing her head gently on his leg. He ran his hand through her hair a few times and placed his other hand around her neck area. After a while, he was on the verge of nodding off when someone came skipping into the house, yelling his name.

Fully awake due to the unexpected arrival, Ein got up and made his way to the doorway. There he found Serene standing, leaning against the wall, while Lina jumped around the house looking for him. The blade of Serene's scythe lay on the floor, and her hand rested on the butt of the handle, keeping the scythe standing straight up.

"Couldn't you guys come in any quieter?" Ein remarked. "What's up?"

"Oh, Ein." Serene looked up at him. "We were looking for you so we could maybe train together."

"Train?" Ein scratched his head. "Um, okay, I guess. Um, who's 'we'?"

Suddenly, he felt something hit him on the back of the head, and he fell down facefirst from the impact. "Dwah!"

A giggle came from behind him. "Gotcha, Ein!"

_Lina…_ Ein stood up and rubbed the back of his head while turning to face Lina. "What was that for?"

"To cheer Ein up!" Lina chirped. Her giant bow rested in her hand, and her other hand was balled into a fist, which she unclenched. "Lina needs some target practice! Ein wanna be a target?"

"H-hey, wait a minute. You want to shoot arrows at _me_?" Ein took a step back.

"Yeah, why not?" Without warning, Lina quickly loaded her bow and shot an arrow at Ein. The arrow went over his shoulder, right under his ear, and out the open door.

"Whoa! Don't do that!" Ein cried. "That came so close I could feel the air moving!"

Lina giggled. "So want to train or not, Ein?"

Ein gulped. "Um, if you agree not to shoot arrows at me?"

Serene chuckled. "Lina, let's not shoot arrows at our allies, okay?"

"Aww, but shooting Ein seems so fun!" Lina grumbled. "Okay, okay, Lina won't shoot Ein."

Ein sighed, wondering if he should trust her. "Well, I suppose I'll train some too." He glanced toward the living room where Fia lay. "Uh, I don't think we should bother Fia…"

"What happened?" Serene asked. "She seems exhausted."

"I let her try using the Angel Blade, but it zapped her strength," Ein explained. "I don't think I should have done that."

"Hey, there's no way you could've known," Serene assured him. "Come on, let's go then."

"Okay, let me get my things first." Ein headed off towards the living room to pick up Oracion and the strange rainbow sword that had possessed Fia earlier. After a short debate in his mind, he decided to take Fia's Needle of Light for training too.

"Mm, Ein… where are… you going…?"

Fia's weak voice drew Ein's attention, and he looked towards her. "Just going to go train with Serene and Lina," he answered gently. "I'll be back, don't worry. You get some rest, okay?"

Fia's eyes opened slightly. "Okay…"

Ein leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. With some thought, he headed upstairs to grab a small blanket and brought it to Fia. After laying the blanket over her, he turned and left the living room to join Serene and Lina, who were waiting outside.

---

"So if you add a laughshroom to this potion and make someone drink it, he'll start crying and won't stop?"

Cierra held a laughshroom over a potion in a glass flask. "Yeah, that's right."

"But doesn't a laughshroom make someone laugh like crazy?" Soala asked. The two of them were making potions in the Magic Guild.

"Normally, yes, but this potion reverses the effect and makes the victim cry," Cierra explained. She dumped the mushroom into the flask and sealed it with a stopper. She then proceeded to shake the flask, and when she finished, the mushroom had disappeared, dissolved into the solution inside, which was turning reddish-brown.

Soala nearly recoiled in shock. "Uh, that looks disgusting…"

"Want to try it?" Cierra asked sweetly. "It's supposed to taste like raw meat mixed with eggs."

"If it tasted like anything good, I might try it." Soala flailed her hands in front of her. "Sounds disgusting the way you put it."

Cierra giggled. "Well, it's supposed to taste like sweet chocolate if you cast some spell on it, but the spell escapes me…"

"Huh? Chocolate? Really?" Soala's ears perked up. "I love chocolate!"

"That's for another day, Soala…" Cierra sat the bottle down. Its contents continued to fizz as gas bubbled out of solution. "Have you the staff I asked you to make a while ago?"

"Oh, the staff!" Soala went to a desk drawer and pulled it out. The drawer was full of junk that didn't have any known use to sprites, but to Soala, the junk usually helped her make things, as she often needed the strangest of ingredients. "Now I know it's in here somewhere…" Soala's voice muffled as she rummaged through the drawer.

Cierra drummed her fingers on the table absentmindedly as she waited. "How's the search coming?" she asked after a few minutes. "You know it helps to be organized."

"Mmph, I knowph, I knowph…"

"It seems like your drawer's about as organized as Lina's room is," Cierra remarked. "Random clothes here and there, a bow here, a claw there, a banango peel under the bed…"

"Mmph! Youph distracfting me!"

"I'm diffracting you? Oh dear, that's not good at all… So you're spreading outwards because of me… you're getting _fat_?"

"Mmbb… fergepth ith…" Soala's head reappeared a couple seconds after. "Okay, got it!" She held up a golden staff about six inches long. The bottom was rounded, and the top was decorated with an astrological symbol that resembled Riviera. Soala chanted a spell quietly, and the staff grew in size to about 18 inches. "Here it is, a compact, powerful staff, the Golden Rod."

Cierra took the staff out of Soala's hand and held it up. "Golden Rod, you say? It's pretty light." She flipped it around playfully. "What's the spell you used to enlarge it?"

Soala repeated the spell, and Cierra tried it out on the staff. It suddenly grew to about four and a half feet long. "Whoa! What?"

"Oh, eh heh, that's the enlarge spell," Soala explained sheepishly. "Each time you use it, it triples the length. You also have to be in contact with the staff in some way, like holding it or taping it to your back or something like that."

"Isn't there a shrinking spell?" Cierra asked, panicking. "I don't want to lug around a staff that's almost as tall as I am…"

"Yeah, there is," Soala replied, giggling. She recited the spell, which Cierra promptly repeated. The staff returned to about 18 inches. She repeated the spell again, and it shrunk to 6 inches.

"That's so useful!" Cierra giggled. "I better start training with this soon!"

"Yeah, you better," Soala affirmed. "Whew, I can finally take a break!"

"Okay, I'll see you later then!" Cierra waved as she left.

"Hey, wait!" Soala cried. "What are you going to do with this!" She held up the bottled potion.

"Just leave it there for now," Cierra called back. "I'll come back to pick it up later!"

"Hmph…" Soala grumbled. "I wonder if I can sneak this into Claude's drink sometime?" A grin came on her face as she planned it in her head.

"Well, well, where shall I go now?" Cierra said to herself as she left the cavern. "Maybe I should go train with Ein and the others…" Cierra started off down the path to the house. When she reached the house, Coco redirected her towards a grassy field elsewhere, saying the master was out training. With that, Cierra headed off to join up with Ein and company.

--

A/N: Ever wonder how you can mess with someone's dream? I do sometimes. I wonder if how loud you are will affect how well you mess with the "victim"'s dream?

Ah, yes, adding a laughshroom to a random potion makes someone cry. Don't try that at home, folks XD. Besides, I just randomly made it up… if you do try it, at least don't drink it, 'cause there's like a 70 chance you'll either get really sick or just die, heh heh XD

The Golden Rod… I have yet to make Cierra's overdrive. Golden Burst? Golden Flare? Expensive Boutique? Who knows XD

Well, here's all I can do for a preview for now…

Chapter 22: A Tour of the Village part 2 (Release date TBA)

Rose and Ledah settle down to relax after meeting the blacksmith Chappi. While resting at the grove, they meet Mursya and Reiche... (That's honestly all I have written so far… again, my sincerest apologies. Until next time, then!)


	22. A Tour of the Village part 2

Hey everyone! Freedom Kira is back! After like 9 months of silence!

Heh, yeah, I sincerely apologize for that. The last year of high school is quite hectic, I must say… and this summer will be a bit more busy for me than the last, so I might not be up to my best at updating.

That aside, I picked up Riviera for the PSP today! I'm so glad I have a PSP. It's white too, because I got it for a Christmas present from my uncle, who got it in Japan. Good stuff, ya XD

Anyway, I haven't gotten very far into the game yet, but I have to say it looks quite nice. The dual audio is a nice touch too, though I really don't like some of the English voices. For example, the narration for the intros was done a bit… um, how do you put it… cheesily? And Rose sounds like a brat. There is little doubt in my mind that whoever voiced Rose also voiced Tomoyo (aka Madison) in the English version of "Cardcaptors." Besides that, everything sounds ok… I haven't gotten to Elendia quite yet. Oh, and Ledah's voice is so powerful! He doesn't sound emotionless at all…

Anyway, the graphics don't look much different on the most part. All the backgrounds were redone of course to fit in the PSP's widescreen, but they look almost the same. All the character portraits are simply larger… and the sprites don't look much different. The most notable change in graphics occurs in battles, where the effects of attacks look very different. Ledah's fully charged Lost Seraph looks quite cool!

I think the English voicing has forced me to accept how the names are pronounced now. Like Ein, Ledah, Einherjar… I never expected it to be "ine-her-yar" XD

Well, that's enough for now! Enjoy chapter 22! It's been nine and a half months since the previous chapter came out.

--

"Ready for more?"

Ledah looked up at Rose from where he was sitting in the grove, studying Lorelei. "Let's take a break first."

"Suit yourself." Rose sat down beside Ledah and relaxed. They had visited Chappi the blacksmith, who had taken Ledah's diviner and hammered away at it without warning. He had given it back sheepishly, but not before wearing his hands out trying to hammer it. Rose couldn't begin to fathom what he might have done had it been a normal spear…

After bidding farewell to Chappi, they had visited Undine Spring next. After two years, Meute's speech was coming along nicely, and both of them could communicate perfectly with them. Lulu had also mellowed since meeting Ein, and had learned a few things about being polite, which pleased Rose very much.

"This village is quite peaceful," Ledah remarked, bringing Rose out of her reverie. "The sprites are all so pleasant."

"That's for sure." Rose lay down onto the grass and sighed. "Destroy Riviera, huh… I'm very curious to see what the excuse is this time…"

Ledah chuckled. "There aren't any demons here, either, and the Accursed are dead too. Actually, it's piqued my interest too…"

"Maybe Orion brainwashed the angels?" Rose joked. "Maybe he made them eat some hypnosis fruit, and put them all under a spell. Then, he can make them do whatever he wants, even if there's no apparent reason."

Ledah looked at her as if her head had sprouted something ugly. "Um, for some reason, I really don't think so…"

"Naw, ya think?" Rose laughed. "It's just a joke, Ledah."

"Joke, hm?" Ledah scratched his head. "Now, I'm sure I know what a joke is…"

Rose shook her head and sighed. "You're kidding, right?"

Ledah laughed and ruffled Rose's short hair. "Yep!"

"Hey, what're y'all doing, nya?"

Rose sat up and turned towards the direction of the voice. "Mursya! And Reiche! Hey there!"

"Heh-loh! Rose!" Reiche called as he tossed a strange-looking rock into the air while walking towards them. "That's your boyfriend, right?"

"Why does everyone keep saying that," Rose grumbled, smacking herself on the face. "Um, this here's Ledah!"

"Oh, Ledah, nya? Nice to meet you, nya!" Mursya stopped in front of the two and held out a paw, which Ledah took hesitantly to shake. "I'm Mursya, nya!"

"And I'm Reiche," Reiche added a couple seconds later. "Is this a tour or something?" He shook Ledah's hand too.

"Yeah, a tour of sorts…" Rose replied. "I'm just bringing him around the village and introducing him to the sprites."

"Oh, a date, nya?" Mursya giggled when Rose's cheeks turned bright red. "How cute! If only someone could take me, nya…" She glanced sideways towards Reiche, but quickly returned her gaze towards the two.

"Now look here, it's not a date…" Rose stammered. "It's just…" She stared down at the ground, knowing that a huge grin was plastered on each of the two sprites' faces.

"Do you have to deny everything?" Ledah asked curiously. "What's so bad about a date?"

Rose scratched her head. "Now that you ask that, I have no idea why…"

"Because it's not bad at all!" Reiche grinned. "Chill out!"

"A date's supposed to be fun, nya!" Mursya added. "You don't have to deny being on one!"

"I guess so…" Rose looked up. "Say, what's that rock there?" She pointed at the rock that Reiche was holding.

"This?" Reiche held up the rock. "It's a rock I found near the spring." He held it up to the sunlight, which glistened off the rock in a wide array of colors. "Isn't it pretty?"

_Never imagined him to say 'pretty'…_ "Yeah, it is," Rose answered. "Does it do anything?"

"Not that I know of." Reiche chuckled. "Do you expect it to grow limbs and start dancing?"

"Well, no… good point."

"Are all the rocks around the spring like this one?" Ledah asked.

"No, that's a special rock, nya," Mursya replied. "I've never seen one like it near the spring before, nya…"

"What's it called?" Rose took the rock from Reiche. "It's so pretty," she murmured.

"I think I'll call it Bob," Reiche joked. "Yeah, Bob the rock."

"There aren't any records on it, nya," Mursya put in.

"So it might as well be called Bob," Ledah remarked, taking a close look at the rock. "I wonder if the blacksmith can forge something out of it?"

"Like some sword? Bob the rainbow sword!" Reiche sang. "Bob the rainbow sword, reflects the sunlight into a rai-"

"Reiche, that's annoying, nyaa!" Mursya yelled, smacking Reiche across the face with a paw, abruptly silencing him.

"Heh, sorry," Reiche chuckled, rubbing his cheek. "Anyway, I wonder if it's an ore?"

"Could be," Ledah agreed, ignoring the incident. "Ask Chappi, he might know."

"I think Claude could know too," Rose added. "You could try asking him."

"Naw, it looks much nicer as a rock than any weapon," Reiche remarked. "I think I won't get it forged."

"Suit yourself," Rose replied, handing the rock back. "I want a rock like that…"

"You're not getting mine!" Reiche teased. "Finders keepers, so find your own!"

"I know, I know." Rose tugged at a feather on Ledah's wing absentmindedly. "So is our break over?" she asked Ledah.

"Break, nya?" Mursya asked. "Continuing the tour now, nya?"

"I suppose so," Ledah replied. "Okay, let's go then. Where to now?"

"Hmm, next is the Magic Guild, I guess," Rose replied. "You don't know who Claude is, right?"

"Right." Ledah let Rose take his hand and pull him along. "See you later," he called back at the two, waving a hand, while they just stood in slight surprise.

"Must be a date," Reiche remarked when the pair were out of earshot. "Just look at those two…"

"Yeah…" Mursya glanced sideways at him. For a second, they crossed gazes, but both quickly turned away. "Well, let's go, then, nya." Mursya grabbed Reiche's arm and dragged him back into the grove, stunning him momentarily.

Rose guided Ledah along a path through a forest. A small stream of water flowed along the side, seemingly guided by some unknown force over the rocks. A small bridge crossed the stream ahead, but Rose pulled him along the path past the bridge. Soon, a small, almost hidden cave could be seen amidst the rocks that led underground. Rose stepped into the darkness, pulling Ledah with her.

Once inside, Ledah looked around in the pitch-blackness. "Um, Rose?"

"Here, this way!" Ledah felt a hand on his own pull him into the darkness. "Watch your step!" The hand guiding his hand began to move upwards, and Ledah followed. A light appeared at the top of the stairs that Ledah later learned they were moving on.

"Welcome to the Magic Guild!" Rose exclaimed cheerfully. "Hey, Ritz!"

Ledah entered the room to see a short boy with something that looked like a shell on his head. The boy looked up at Rose's call and, after sizing the two up for a second, grinned widely. "Hey there, Rose!"

"Ledah, meet Ritz," Rose announced, pulling him towards the boy. "Ritz, this is Ledah."

"Ledah, huh?" Ritz tilted his head and looked up at Ledah sideways. "You're that guy who saved Ein back then, right?"

"I saved Ein?" Ledah scratched his head. "Well, I suppose I did. Well, anyway, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meetcha too, mister!" Ritz exclaimed. "Um, let's see… I do mining here. The guild's down thataway, and there's a magic teleportation circle in that room there!" He pointed in various directions as he spoke.

"Yeah, I'm giving Ledah a tour of Elendia," Rose explained. "We were heading the Magic Guild."

"Your destination's there, then," Ritz replied, pointing out the obvious. "Have fun!"

"Thanks, Ritz." Rose pulled on Ledah's hand again. "Come on! And don't forget to watch your step!"

Ledah could only wave slightly to Ritz as he got dragged up a couple steps to the next room. Ritz returned to his mining with a knowing grin.

Ledah, guided by Rose, made his way into a small room that seemed well-organized. A couple bookshelves lined the rock wall, providing the only furniture other than the table at the far end and a couple chairs. Several books were scattered on the table, while the bookshelves nearly looked as if they would sag under the weight of the books if more were added. Sunlight streamed in through a window, lighting up the room easily. A man with leafy green hair had his back turned to the two, facing the bookshelf, his full attention on the book he was holding.

"Hey, Claude!" Rose greeted cheerfully as she entered.

The man quickly turned to face Ledah and Rose. He placed a leaf on the page he was on and closed it. "Hello, there, Rose," he returned simply. "And this is… ah, you are Ledah?"

"That I am," Ledah answered. "Pleased to meet you."

The man smiled cordially as he walked over to where Ledah stood and extended a hand. "I've heard much about you. It's a pleasure to meet you as well. Welcome to the Magic Guild."

"Thanks very much," Ledah said, shaking Claude's hand. "I might be able to do some research here if I need to."

"Of course," Claude said. "You're always welcome to delve into our knowledge of Riviera."

From the shadows deeper into the room, another sprite emerged. A tall pointy hat sat on long, cascading blue hair. "What's all the noise?" she asked.

"Ah, Soala!" Rose turned to greet her. "I'm giving Ledah a tour of Elendia. Ledah, this is Soala, the second person working here in the Magic Guild."

"My pleasure, Mr. Ledah," Soala greeted cheerfully. "Have you two gone around the whole village already?"

"Oh no, the pleasure is all mine," Ledah returned. "And um, ask Rose about the details…"

"Yeah, I think we're just about done… aren't you tired?" Rose hopped onto Ledah's back playfully, throwing her arms around his neck. Ledah barely managed to keep his balance.

"You think that's going to help me now, hm?" Ledah played along and pretended to be strained for breath as he tugged lightly at Rose's arms.

"Hey, you know we're still here, you know!" Soala grinned. "Well, I suppose my break doesn't last much longer. And I'm still worried about some possible aftereffects of Cierra's new magic staff."

"Aftereffects?" Rose and Ledah said in unison, stopping their playing around.

"Well, it's a possibility worth looking into," Claude replied. "We don't want to overlook any problems. There might also be side effects to the shrinking ability."

"Hm, so should we try to avoid bringing Cierra into fights until we're sure of its side effects then?" Ledah asked. "Because you're right; random side effects would surely pose a problem if you're not expecting them."

"I believe that is the best course of action," Claude agreed, "though it would be irrational to prevent her from joining the battle, as she is able to use other weapons and other means of attacking."

"I agree with Claude," Soala added. "We might be unsure of the possible effects of the Golden Rod, but there are other staves she can use."

"Okay, we should pass that information along to Cierra then," Rose said. "Thanks for the information."

"Oh, no, we should be the ones thanking you," Soala protested. "Cierra was pressuring me to get the staff out quickly and left as soon as I finished explaining how it works. And in the rush, I didn't remember to say something until after she'd left. I'm so sorry about that."

"It's no problem," Ledah assured her. "Well, we best be on our way before Cierra gets herself into any trouble."

"All right, then," Claude said. "Best of luck to you, and please give my regards to the master."

Rose, who had been tugging on Ledah's arm, stopped and turned to Claude. "Um, master?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I meant Master Ein."

"Oh please," Rose pouted. "He's a master now? What, the master of perversion?"

"Pardon me." Claude looked confused. "Master of what?"

"Um, never mind," Rose said quickly. "Ledah, let's go!" The two of them almost flew out the door.

"Did you hear what she said?" Claude turned to Soala, who was turned away. Her face was beet red. "Um, Soala?"

"Oh, um, I think she said 'master of perfection,'" Soala replied hastily without turning to face Claude. "Yeah, that's it." She headed towards the back of the room where the entrance to her study area was.

"I'm quite certain that is not what Rose said," Claude said to himself, "but I shall drop the topic now. I'm certain I don't want to know." Soala's door slammed, and a brief draft drifted through the room. "I wonder if something happened to Soala before that involved the master?" Claude's gaze rested on the closed door for a few minutes, and then he shook his head and returned to his studies.

--

A/N: Heh, I'm glad I finally feel more like writing lately. I've been so out of it after stopping…

Anyway, don't be expecting me to update twice a week anymore! Remember the Thursday and Sunday update system? I think I'm going to limit it to just every Sunday now. I have way too much to do this summer. The next chapter's hardly even been started! Speaking of next chapter, the release date of which I hope I can meet…

Chapter 23: Revisiting Past Training (Release on July 22, 2007)

After sparring a while, Serene and Ein recall training during the journeys. Cierra joins in the training sessions, but the new staff goes awry before Rose and Ledah can warn Cierra!


	23. Revisiting Past Training

Oy! Looks like I'm pretty much bound by duty to finish this story. And might I remark that I seem to have lost a lot of support for this story? I wonder where all the reviewers are.

Just in case anyone's wondering, I live in Canada, where the school year is different from America's. I don't know if it's the same for every province or for every state, but where I am, the school year lasts from the beginning of September to the end of June. Our summer holidays are July and August, instead of June and July like it is in the States. That's why I haven't posted a thing in June.

Anyhoo, I've been making quite good progress in the PSP's Riviera. I'm now halfway through Nelde Ruins, so now I have Ein's Disaresta overskill and both Serene and Cierra. I've just recently seen Disaresta at full power, and it looks real nice! Its underpowered attack is alright too. And Serene? I don't like her new English voice actress. Serene sounded much better in the GBA because her voice was softer and gentler. Now, she sounds a bit bratty. Cierra's English voice sounds a bit different from the GBA too… I wonder if she also has a new actress? The Japanese voices are quite interesting, though… Serene's Japanese voice especially. I don't know who it reminds me of… and no, I haven't heard Cierra's Japanese voice yet.

Oh, and as a side note, "Serene Combo" was renamed "Serene Combination." I wonder why they did that…

Well, without further ado, here is chapter 23 of The White Wings! I guess I was able to make it to the deadline with just a day to spare XD. Enjoy!

--

Deep in the woods of Elendia, the clanging of metal could be heard, with the occasional rustle of the leaves and vibration of a bowstring. As one moved nearer to the sounds, grunting can also be heard.

"Take this! Serene Obliteration!"

Serene launched a series of swipes with a wooden stick crudely carved into the shape of a scythe. Ein parried each blow with his own wooden sword. Ein's Angel Blade, Serene's dark scythe, and Fia's glowing white rapier rested on the grass nearby.

"Hah, I can't even touch you," Serene panted. "You've gotten so much stronger and faster since you got those wings."

Ein stood in a casual stance. He reached up a hand and patted his left wing. "I don't really think so," he replied. "Maybe you've gained weight?"

"W-what?" Serene exclaimed. She felt around her waist area. "You're joking, right?"

"Yep," Ein answered casually. "Say, Lina looks really bored over there."

A circular target created by cutting a log was leaning against a tree. Several arrows were shot into the center of the log slice. Lina stood some distance away holding her bow. She quickly loaded the bow and shot the arrow without aiming. The arrow hit the target dead center and split an arrow that was already embedded in the target.

"And whose fault is that?" Serene countered. "You're the one who doesn't want to be a moving target for her!"

"Um, have you seen what she's shooting?" Ein protested. "If I get hit by accident, don't you think I might die?"

"Yeah yeah." Serene plopped down onto the grass and dropped her wooden scythe. "Do you remember how we used to train between battles during our travels back then?"

Ein nodded. "We would be fighting images of demons we fought before. Wait a minute, you don't say…"

"That's right." Serene picked up her real scythe and stood up. "I don't particularly remember how we managed to do that several hundred times, but if we can do that again, I think we can train a lot better than we are now."

"How come I never thought of that?" Ein scratched his head and put his wooden sword down. He sat down on the grass beside the two remaining weapons. "This makes things so much easier and less risky…"

"Because Ein's dumb!" Lina's voice chirped suddenly. Ein looked up to find Lina squatting on the ground in front of him. "That's why Ein didn't think of that!"

"Um, right," Ein said. "Done your target practice? From the looks of it, you don't need to practice aiming."

"No, Lina doesn't really need to," Lina confirmed. "Lina needs to practice more with the scythe though!" Lina jumped to her feet and hopped her way over to Serene. "Hey, want to trade weapons with Lina?"

"Um, Lina, you know I don't have the slightest ability in using a bow," Serene protested. "Remember, my best ability with the bow is to chuck it at random and hope it hits an enemy."

"Yeah, but what's funny is that we always get the bow back somehow!" Lina exclaimed. "I remember you threw Ein's diviner… Einherjab or something… at least 10 times, and it always came back to us!"

"It's Einherjar," Ein mumbled. "And I have no idea why that happens."

"Yeah, Einjerhar, whatever!" Lina chirped. "And anyway, you should learn how to shoot an arrow! I think it will help everyone fight!"

"Hey, as long as we're a flying strike team, I have no need to learn how to shoot," Serene chided. "I fly, you shoot, remember?"

"But if both Serene and Lina can shoot, they can shoot twice as fast!" Lina argued. "Then they'll be twice as strong!"

Ein sighed. "Um…"

"There's no use in trying to teach someone to shoot an arrow straight in two days, and it's even worse to try to teach someone to shoot straight while flying!" Serene countered, completely ignoring Ein, who sighed again and looked over Oracion closely.

"Serene's a pessimist!" Lina complained. "You haven't even tried yet! It's not that hard to shoot an arrow!"

"I'm a pessimist with good reason!" Serene shot back. "No one learns how to shoot a bow in two days! No one learns to wield any weapon in two days!"

Lina turned to Ein, who was now studying the Needle of Light closely. "Ein! How come you knew how to use the new weapon as soon as you got it?"

"That's a good point," Serene admitted, "but you have to remember, Ein's special! And plus, he used a diviner before, and the Angel Blade is almost the same!"

"I don't think I'm that special," Ein said in a normal tone. "I just did as my instincts told me."

"See?" Lina pouted. "If Serene just do what Serene's instincts tell her, Serene can shoot an arrow too!"

"In the wrong direction maybe!" Serene replied. "Yeesh, I've had enough of this! Besides, you're our main projectile attacker, Lina. It's your job to fling arrows, and it's my job to protect you while you do."

Lina looked surprised. "Serene…" After a moment of silence as they looked into each other's eyes, Lina dropped her gaze. "Okay, okay, fine, Serene wins."

"Okay?" Serene grinned and ruffled Lina's hair. "It's okay. We can back each other up even if I don't shoot arrows, right?"

"Yep!" Lina suddenly chirped up. "That means I get to ride on you again, right?"

Ein quickly looked away at that statement. Serene's face flushed a deep red. "Lina, that was an… odd statement," Serene said. "But yeah, sure. Just don't say it like that."

"Huh? Lina doesn't get it!" Lina's cheerful face suddenly became questioning. She moved in front of Serene, ducked her head down, and looked up into Serene's face. "Are you thinking something weird?"

"No, no, nothing at all!" Serene waved her hands in front of her face with a sheepish grin. "Nothing at all…"

Lina raised an eyebrow and glanced at Ein, whose back was turned towards them. His head was hunched over and he seemed to be studying the Rainbow Sword closely. "Ein!"

Ein's body jolted upright instantly. "Y-yes?" he stammered. He turned around slowly. "Um, is something wrong?"

Lina eyed him suspiciously. "Ein, are you being a pervert again?" she demanded, stomping her way up to him until she towered over him despite her short height and his large wings.

"I-I'm a pervert?" Ein replied uneasily. "Um, I think you have the wrong guy…"

"So Ein _is_ being a pervert!" Lina hopped back a couple steps and loaded her bow. "Prepare yourself!"

"Ack!" Ein yelled. "S-Serene! Help me! Lina's—"

Before Lina could shoot the arrow, a strange incantation could be heard in the distance in the woods. Without warning, a small fireball flew out of the woods directly in Lina's direction. Lina simply watched as the fireball zipped towards her. Serene quickly realized the danger and dashed in to grab Lina's hand and pull her up into the air as she herself lifted off with her wings. The fireball whizzed past below them and slammed into a boulder, quickly dissipating.

"That was close!" Lina exclaimed. "Thanks!"

"No sweat," Serene replied. "Who the heck was that?" She gently descended back to the ground and set Lina down.

As if on cue, a figure with a huge pointed object on the head emerged from the woods. In the figure's hand was a glimmering stick about the same length as any sword. As the figure moved out of the shadows of the trees, the three of them quickly recognized who it was.

"Cierra?" Serene exclaimed in disbelief. "What are you doing, shooting that at Lina?"

Cierra moved closer to them before replying. "Well, you were pointing a bow at Ein!" She brushed a strand of hair off her face and stood in front of the three. "How would I know you don't have any intent to shoot him?"

"Lina was just playing around!" Lina protested. "Lina would never shoot Ein!"

Ein breathed a sigh of relief. "So this means you don't think I'm a pervert, right?"

The faces of all the girls lit up a shining red. "Geez, Ein, you just have to push it that way," Serene yelled. "Just for that comment, no, you're not forgiven!"

"B-but…" Ein was stopped short at the deadly gazes of both Lina and Cierra. "Maybe I should just shut up…" he mumbled. Serene just shrugged. "A-anyway!" Ein tried to change the subject. "What's that shiny stick you have there, Cierra?"

Cierra's deadly gaze instantly dissipated. "Oh, glad you asked. This here is my own new weapon! Allow me to demonstrate its incredible compactness!" Cierra chanted the spell and the rod shrunk. "Sometimes I'm amazed myself at what magic can do."

"Oh?" Ein looked up at the staff. "That's pretty interesting. You can make it grow bigger too right?"

"Yep!" Cierra chanted the enlarge spell, and the staff returned to its original size. "In case you're wondering, that spell only works on this staff, Ein." Cierra winked. "I don't know any spells that enlarge body parts."

"As if I was wondering!" Ein cried. Serene doubled over laughing as his face lit up a burning red. Lina looked confused. "Geez, don't tease!" Ein plopped back down, his interest in the staff completely lost.

"Lina doesn't get it!" Lina complained. "Why would Ein need a body part enlarged? Aren't his wings big enough already?"

"It's better if you didn't think about it, Lina," Serene advised between laughs. "You should stay as innocent as you are right now."

"Hm…" Lina grumbled. "Lina's sure that Serene is thinking something perverted." She plopped down on the ground and folded her arms in mock frustration, refusing to look at the others. Serene gave a sheepish grin.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Cierra reassured Lina, grinning. "So weren't you three doing something out here other than sitting around?"

"Well, Ein and I were sparring earlier," Serene explained. "It's probably not that good an idea. Cierra, do you remember how we trained between battles back during our journeys?"

Cierra thought hard for a moment. "Nope, not really," she finally answered. "It's been a long time, so I don't really remember…"

Serene almost fell over in disbelief, but caught herself. "It's only been about two years. Is your memory that bad?"

"Apparently so. Hm, what's this staff I have here?" Cierra tried to appear curious.

Serene shook her head. "That's sorta pushing it. Come on, you have to remember something from the travels."

Cierra grinned. "I guess I'm not pulling anyone's leg." She scratched her head. "Something like fighting make-believe demons?"

"Yeah! That's more like it," Serene encouraged. "We're trying to do that again for training now. Maybe your magic can do something about that?"

"Use magic to re-create demons?" Cierra rubbed her chin. "As far as I can recall, you guys were training way before I joined you, right?"

"Hm, that's a good point," Serene agreed. "I just don't remember how we did it!"

"Somehow we ended up fighting the enemies we defeated before over and over," Ein added. "Does that make any sense to you? From what I can recall, it was something like this: Fia suggested that we practice using our weapons between battles, and then whenever we did, practice enemies showed up. They even attacked us back, and when we defeated them, they would drop the same items as the original enemies did."

"And it was the same when I joined you guys," Serene added. "It's been the same thing even after Cierra joined in. Plus, whenever we fought those practice battles, even the most damaged item lasted forever. Nothing ever broke during a practice battle."

"This is giving me a headache," Cierra mumbled. "It doesn't seem to be magical in any way, but there also doesn't seem to be any other explanation, does there?"

"Not unless ghosts exist," Ein agreed. "And they were sure as heck not ghosts. You can't really kill ghosts, much less with physical attacks. Not to mention they were just as resistant to holy attacks as normal."

"I wonder if it has something to do with Fia?" Serene suggested. "It seems to make sense, because she was with us when we did our practice battling, and you couldn't practice before she was in the party, right, Ein?"

"But when Fia got separated from Lina and me in Lacrima Castle, we were still able to practice… right, Lina?"

Lina perked up at her name. "What? Um, Lina doesn't know! Lina and Ein didn't fight any practice battles until after Fia joined them again, remember?"

"Well I dunno!" Ein said, slightly frustrated. "Why don't we just hack away at imaginary enemies for now! It's practically what we were doing before, right?"

"I guess I don't mind looking like an idiot," Serene agreed. "What do you two say?"

"Okay, whatever!" Lina chirped, hopping to her feet. Her usual bright smile took over the quickly forgotten frown she had for the past couple minutes.

"Well, I guess the forest can use a forest fire once in a while, right?" Cierra grinned. "Plants, grass, trees, prepare yourselves!" She started to chant a spell and wave her staff around, but the others stopped her.

"Cierra!" Serene scolded, her hand gripping the staff. "Elendia does _not_ need to be burned to the ground!"

"Burning our house down repeatedly was enough," Ein added. "We should consider ourselves lucky that the fire didn't spread, and very lucky that the fire could even be put out."

"Lina doesn't want to live in a blackened town!" Lina put in. "Elendia is supposed to be green!"

"Haha, okay, okay, you got me!" Cierra giggled. "I was only joking, anyhow. At least, I was mostly joking…"

"I think that's about enough," Serene said, knocking Cierra on the head lightly. "Why don't we see if you can do anything else with your staff rather than burning down everything beside you?"

"Well, I'm going to have to use the staff another seven times before we can find out," Cierra reminded her. "I used it once already, so…"

"Okay, looks like we need something fireproof." Ein started looking around. His gaze fell on a couple of fairly large rocks about the size of his hand. "Are these big enough?" he asked, pointing at the rocks.

"No way, they'll be charcoal in an instant," Serene laughed. "What we really need is a lake."

"Yeah!" Lina giggled. "Let's all go to Undine Spring!"

Cierra blushed. "Um, is that really necessary?"

"Well, it's better than burning down the forest indirectly," Serene joked. "You know, heat up the rocks until they're hot enough to put other things on fire."

"Say I miss the spring?" Cierra threatened jokingly. "Say a stray fireball hits this tree that happens to be close to your house, Serene?"

"Well, I hope you can aim, Cierra," Serene replied. "Maybe Undine Spring isn't the right place, though. How about we find a lake that's surrounded by rocks and sand?"

"That's probably enough talking for now," Ein said. "The sooner we start walking, the sooner we reach the lake, right?"

"Oh come on," Cierra protested. "I don't remember causing a forest fire in Nelde Ruins when we trained there!" She began chanting a spell in frustration. "My fire spells have a limited range anyway. They can't go very far, so as long as they don't hit anything, we'll be fine!"

"Well, I hope so—" Ein was cut off by a sudden steady rumbling. "What's that sound?" He quickly grabbed the Rainbow Sword and Oracion and steadied himself. The others grabbed their respective weapons and prepared to fight.

"Huh?" Cierra gasped. "What's going on?" The Golden Rod in her hand was glowing with a strange orange aura. The vibrations in the ground caused her to lose her grip on the staff, which dropped to the ground. The staff continued to shake, and without warning, stood up straight and grew several times in both length and thickness until it towered over the trees. The aura expanded and slowly formed the shape of a long snake.

"What's… going on?" Ein cried, watching in disbelief. "Just what did you use to make that staff, Cierra?"

"That's some dragon we have here," Serene remarked. "I just can't tell what it is yet."

"Lina's scared!" Lina cried, peeking out from behind Serene.

"I don't know!" Cierra said. "I haven't heard anything about this!"

Above them, the aura continued to take a shape that resembled more closely a Naga dragon than a snake. Finished its transformation, the head of the dragon turned its head down and approached until it was just meters away from the group. Its eyes narrowed as it stared at the group intently.

"Uh… nice to meet you?" Cierra greeted uneasily.

--

A/N: Yay, cliffhanger! I love cliffhangers! Actually, at this point, even I don't know what's going to happen, heh… I suppose one can say I'm writing whatever comes to mind, with some planning on the basic direction of the plot. It's funny… when one writes, he usually has the ending planned out before the middle of the story… that's a bit like my situation here.

Ah, speculation, speculation! What would we do without it? I don't mean to poke fun at the game, but really… is there any practical way to have a practice battle the way they do in Riviera? Anyone else ever wonder about that?

To the reviewers: I don't know what happened to you all, but please review again! Reviews are all greatly appreciated, to say the least.

As a general comment with nothing to do with this chapter: isn't it about time that this website had a section for Yggdra Union? All the authors who write fanfictions for that game post their stories in the Riviera section. Yggdra Union really deserves its own section, though I haven't gotten very far in it and I haven't played it in a long time XD

On the next chapter of The White Wings…

Chapter 24: The Golden Dragon (Release on July 29, 2007)

The dragon of Cierra's staff presents the group with a challenge to deem Cierra's worthiness of wielding the staff! During the confusion, Ledah and Rose arrive to present their already old news. Can the group overcome this challenge?


	24. The Golden Dragon

Oy! So how is everyone doing? Is anyone even reading this story anymore? The response I've received for the latest two chapters has been almost nothing in comparison to the earlier ones… But I have faith in you readers! And reviewers!

RiviPSP is coming along pretty well. I'm now about two-thirds done Tetyth. I don't know, not much to say, except that I think some of the weapons' level 3 overskills have been switched around. Not to mention that I somehow got a black scythe, which I didn't discover in the GBA game, and which also has Serene's overskill Serene Absolute, which I swear was for the final scythe in the GBA game.

Oh, and another comment: someone said on the message boards on GameFaqs that it's pretty hard to get the bathing scenes now, and I now know what he means. It took me about ten tries to get the first bathing scene, because of the long input sequence that you have to input in about 2-3 seconds. Oh well, at least I got it… it's also different from the GBA's bathing scene in that there are two images if you succeed and one entirely different CG if you fail… I'm not joking XD

Anyway, I blab too much. Enjoy chapter 24!

--

"Crap, looks like we're too late," Rose muttered in disbelief. She lay in Ledah's arms, which were carrying her through the air towards the towering, glowing, orange dragon that had appeared moments ago. "Do you think that's from Cierra's staff?" she asked Ledah, who was studying the dragon intently.

"There's no doubt about it," Ledah replied coolly. "I wonder what business it has with us?" He flew higher to get a better view. The image of the dragon was formed from a strange stick that stood up from the ground, taller than the surrounding trees. The dragon itself emerged from the tip of the stick and coiled around it several times. The head of the dragon was hidden by the foliage.

"We better hurry," Rose said. "I have a really bad feeling about this, somehow. How much longer?"

"I'd say about another three minutes at least," Ledah answered. "And what's the big deal? Not like telling them what we just found out is going to do anything."

"I guess you have a point there."

---

Down on the ground, the dragon continued to study Cierra with narrowed eyes. Cierra fidgeted uneasily under its deathly gaze. Lina had fallen backwards and landed on her bottom, and Serene and Ein simply stood staring at the dragon. After about half a minute, the dragon finally spoke.

"You are the one who wields this staff, is that correct?" The dragon enunciated every word slowly with a deep voice, but it was still difficult to make out the words.

"Um, yes," Cierra answered warily. "I didn't know that you were, um, living in it, though…"

Serene raised an eyebrow. "Living? That's a dragon, not a genie. Do you need glasses?"

Cierra blushed. "Well, what am I supposed to say?"

The dragon interrupted the two. "I am the spiritual being that possesses this staff," it rumbled. "This is the first time I've been released into the world. Ahh, fresh air feels nice."

Cierra blinked. "Yes? I suppose it does."

The dragon cleared its throat quickly. "Anyway, since you are somehow entitled to use this staff, I must be sure that you are worthy of wielding my power."

Cierra scratched her head absentmindedly. "So what do you want me to do?"

"Well, I require you to fulfill a task of my choosing that will show me your worthiness upon completion," the dragon replied.

"You mean a test, right?" Serene said. "You know, exactly what you just said, just shorter."

"Um, yeah. If you must." The dragon seemed to become lost in thought.

"This sounds strangely familiar," Ein mumbled. "Haven't I gone through something like this?"

Serene gave him a sideways glance. "What are you mumbling about?"

"Well, I remember having to fulfill a test as well to receive my powers," Ein replied. "The only difference was that I was tested by a Magus and not a dragon, oh, and that I was doing it to rescue Fia. Well, I suppose the test itself is going to be different too."

Lina hopped to her feet. "Lina's interested! What did you do, Ein?"

Cierra turned to him. "Anything you say can be useful to me in completing this test," she added. "I don't know what I'm dealing with…"

"Well, for starters, you should keep your mission in mind." Ein said. He scratched his head in thought. "Um, and some things take priority over others, like saving someone's life over completing your task."

"That sounds simple enough," Serene remarked. "Cierra, got all that?"

"Yep," Cierra answered. "Still, I wonder what he's going to make me do? What, it's not a test of power?"

"Yeah, that's what Lina was thinking too!" Lina agreed. "Lina thought you would have to fight the dragon or something!"

"Well, I don't know," Ein murmured. "I wasn't tested by a dragon, so your test might as well be on power."

Cierra nodded thoughtfully. "Anyway, why hasn't the dragon said anything yet?"

The four of them all turned back to the dragon, which still appeared to be thinking. Serene noticed a small speck in the distance that was slowly growing larger.

"Hey, you guys see that?" Serene pointed at the speck. "I can't really tell what it is."

Ein shaded his eyes and looked towards the object. "Whatever it is, it doesn't seem dangerous," he commented. The figure came closer, and he could begin to make out some of the features. "It's got black wings, and… it looks like… it has two feet growing out of its side plus the two feet below it, and it has a head on the other side…"

"What the heck are you talking about, Ein?" Serene laughed. "That's a winged person carrying a wingless person!"

Ein's face turned a bit pink. "Oh, yeah…"

The figure approached closer and descended below the top of the staff. The group could start to make out more physical features of it. Ein studied it again. "Hmm, blond hair, black wings, red clothes… oh, that's Ledah! And in his arms… that's probably Rose."

"Yeah, you're right this time," Serene winked. "See, not every strange-looking thing is a monster, right?"

"Um, yeah…"

After a few more seconds, Ledah landed lightly on the ground. Before he or Rose could say anything, Lina hopped her way over to them and chirped, "Hey, Ein thought Ledah was a monster!"

"What?" Rose turned to Ein and laughed. "Ein, are you being paranoid?"

"Um, no…" Ein stuttered. "But—"

"So this dragon here, I assume it appeared from the staff?" Ledah interrupted. "It doesn't look very threatening. In fact, it looks somewhat half-asleep…"

"How did you know it came from the staff?" Cierra wondered. "Are you psychic or something?"

"Well, mostly because there's a staff taller than the trees sitting right there," Ledah replied, pointing to the staff which the dragon was curled around. "And actually, we were asked to warn you about some possible side-effects to using the staff, Cierra, though a dragon was somewhat unexpected."

"Oh, right!" Cierra giggled sheepishly. "But anyway, yeah, it seems to want to test me or something. Something about my worthiness of wielding its power."

"Is that so? Well, I'd say we should just play along for now," Ledah said. "Who knows what might happen if you don't."

"I agree," Rose added. "Besides, it doesn't look like it intends to kill you."

"And who knows what might happen if you attack it without warning?" Serene grinned. "This time we might not be able to avoid a forest fire."

"Lina's ready to help!" Lina jumped up from behind Serene and locked her arms around her neck playfully.

"Everyone… thank you." Cierra smiled. "I know I can count on you all!"

"Uh, guys?" Ein said uneasily. "The dragon seems to be awake now."

Everyone turned to look at the dragon, whose blank stare was becoming clear. "Um, so as I was saying… what was I saying? What was I doing?" The dragon seemed confused. It turned to the group, and suddenly its eyes lit up. "Oh, right. Your test. I'm not all too sure what to have you do, so I think I'll just test your magical strength."

"Without using the Golden Rod, I presume?" Cierra asked. "That means I'll probably have to use another staff."

"That's right," the dragon replied. "And to make things harder, I'm going to have you fight with only one other person of your choosing."

"Oh, my," Cierra said. "Well, who else other than Ein to choose?" She winked at him. Ein blushed slightly.

"But I must warn you, only magic has any effect on me," the dragon continued. "It's best to choose someone who can also use magic."

"What?" Cierra exclaimed in surprise. "I thought you were going to conjure some monster or something!"

"No, of course not," the dragon answered. "I must be the one to test your abilities. I shall give you ten minutes to prepare. Is that enough?"

"Is fifteen okay?" Cierra responded. "I'm going to need a bit of time to think."

"Okay, I'll be waiting. If you're late, my excess energy might cause a forest fire, so don't take too long."

"My, what a fearsome dragon," Cierra remarked to the group, not loud enough for the dragon to hear.

"It doesn't really sound like a dragon to me," Serene said. "The way it talks is kind of… well, bizarre."

"But anyway, what should I do?" Cierra asked. "None of you can use strong magic, so I'm kind of stuck here…"

"Ledah, do you use any magic at all?" Rose questioned. "Actually, that's a pretty dumb question. All you ever use is Lorelei."

"That's right," Ledah confirmed. "Lorelei is all I need, or so I always say."

"Yeah, remember Heaven's gate? You wouldn't even drink a potion when you were weakened."

Ledah winced slightly. "Let's not talk about that. It brings back bad memories."

"Um, yeah, okay." Rose kept a loose grip on Ledah's shirt in one hand.

"By the way, Cierra," Ein put in. "Don't be going into this fight without healing abilities. You're going to need a few potions."

"Well, I'm more worried about finding a partner to help me first," Cierra answered. "I'll remember to bring in a potion, don't worry."

"Say…" Rose thought aloud. "Soala was the one who told us to warn you about the staff. Why don't you ask her? She probably knows some of the dragon's weak points, right?"

"Yeah, that's a great idea!" Cierra exclaimed. "And on top of that, she can also use magic!"

"What an odd coincidence," Serene remarked. "It's almost as if the dragon was planning for that to happen."

"Let's not worry about that," Ledah put in. "We better hurry. Fifteen minutes is not that much time."

"You're right," Cierra said. "Say, Ledah, could you do me a favor?"

"Depends what the favor is," Ledah answered.

"Well… can you fly me back to Elendia?" Cierra asked uneasily. "Um… it's okay if you won't…"

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Cierra, you're a witch, right? Don't witches know how to fly? You know, magical flying broomsticks and such?"

"Haha, I'm not really into flying broomsticks…" Cierra grinned sheepishly. "Is it okay with you, Ledah?"

"And you say you're not a witch for nothing…" Rose muttered under her breath.

"Well, it's all right with me," Ledah answered. "I'm not too sure why you're not asking Ein, though."

"Oh, right!" Cierra giggled. "I can't seem to get it into my head that you have wings now, Ein!"

"That's okay," Ein replied. "I sometimes forget too. But anyway, I don't know if I can carry two sprites…"

"Two? Oh, you mean when coming back." Cierra looked thoughtful for a moment. "If you can't handle it, I suppose Ledah will help?"

"Don't go making decisions on your own!" Rose protested.

"Rose, it's okay," Ledah assured her. "I have no doubt that Ein will be okay, but I'll help if you need it."

"Ledah…" Rose looked up at him and locked eyes briefly, and then looked back down. _You're an idiot…_

"Rose?" Ein said, startling Rose out of her thoughts. "Who's an idiot?"

"Ah, you heard that?" Rose cried in surprise.

"Not on purpose." Ein grinned. "Don't worry, everything'll be fine. Now, let's go, Cierra!"

"Ah, um, yes!" Cierra said, awkwardly fidgeting. "Um, how do we—"

"No problem!" Ein smoothly scooped up Cierra in his arms and took off in an instant. "I've done this before, don't worry." He grinned.

"Oh, is that so…" Cierra flushed red. "Th-thank you, Ein."

"Don't mention it."

Behind them, two other winged people also took off following Ein and carrying someone. Lina lay in Serene's arms and Rose in Ledah's. Ein's wings began to glow softly, and left behind a trail of faint sparkles.

"Wow, that's so pretty." Cierra sighed. "It's breathtaking."

"Huh? What is?" Ein asked, not paying attention to what was behind him.

"Your wings," Cierra replied. "They're glowing."

"Oh, really?" Ein didn't seem to pay attention, but instead navigated his way towards the crystal caverns in Elendia, which was not very far away.

"Um, is this the right choice to make?" Cierra wondered. "I'm suddenly having second thoughts. This would be dragging Soala into this whole mess…"

"I'm sure Soala would be happy to help," Ein reassured her. "And I think that you asking her to help you would make her happy too. Soala's not very confident in her skills, so if you ask her to help I think she'll be grateful."

"You think so?" Cierra looked up at him slightly dreamily. "Gosh, Ein, it feels like you're a completely different person than you were two years ago."

"Really? I don't think I've changed that much." Ein saw the cave below and started his descent slowly. The two behind him followed suit.

"Yeah," Cierra continued. "You seem so much more mature now, although I think you still peek at girls bathing, don't you?" she winked.

Ein flushed and almost dropped Cierra in shock, but regained his balance. "C-Cierra!" he cried. "Wha—"

Cierra just giggled. "I'm just joking, Ein. But honestly, you have grown a lot. I'm starting to feel my age."

Ein touched down lightly on the ground, his face still bright red. "Um, thanks, I guess." He put Cierra onto her feet. A wave of thought rushed across his face and he lifted off again. "I have an errand to run. I'll be back in a jiffy."

"Um, okay." Cierra nodded. The others landed around them. "Don't take too long, or we're going to be firefighters again!"

Ein chuckled. "Don't worry. You just concentrate on convincing Soala to help you." He turned around and flew off.

"Where's Ein going?" Lina chirped as she hopped out of Serene's arms.

"Apparently he has something to do," Cierra replied. "Come on, let's go."

"You're doing the talking, Cierra," Serene teased. "We'll go with you though."

"And we'll stay out here," Ledah added. "Don't dawdle too long. We don't have much time."

"Good luck, Cierra," Rose put in.

"Thanks, everyone." Cierra turned towards the cave and made her way inside, followed by Serene and Lina.

--

A/N: Tell me if this chapter feels rushed, because I feel like I didn't spend quite enough time writing it. Ah, me and my habits… I'm just barely making the deadlines I set with just a day to spare.

I know I implied a lot of ExC in this chapter, and yes I intended to do that, but I don't intend to carry it out much further. I wonder if the pairing I have in mind would be interesting? I'm sure quite a few of you can see it coming and can predict what pairing I'm talking about.

I think after the battle with the dragon, it's time to begin the invasion… I'll be using a few OCs (original characters), but I also want to introduce OCs from other fictions (mostly because I'm lazy and uncreative). I won't use anyone's OCs without permission, though.

On the next chapter of The White Wings…

Chapter 25: Magic Battle (Release on August 5, 2007)

Ein returns with a small gift that proves valuable in the fight against the dragon. After some chatter, Cierra finds herself a fighting partner and heads off to battle. How will she fare?


	25. Magic Battle

Gee, I really miss the reviews. Oh well…

RiviPSP update: I'm a bit into Chapter 5 at Mireno now. Not much to comment, other than that Rose's voice sounds a bit better now, for some reason. Oh yeah, and it was actually quite hard to get the second bathing scene, because you have to mash the button 2-3 times per second at least (it's harder than it sounds). If anyone's stuck there (I mean on the giant golem… if you're stuck on the first golem, you might as well give up now), I'll give you a tip: instead of pressing the button up and down, put the PSP sideways and on some surface. Put your index finger just below the button and slide it back and forth over the button between just above the button and just below it. If you can slide really fast, you can actually press the button about 10 more times than you can by twitching your thumb pressing the button, because each back and forth motion presses the button twice instead of just once with your thumb's up and down motion.

Anyway, here is the 25th chapter of The White Wings! It feels pretty good to have come this far. I wonder how long I should make this story?

--

"Fighting a dragon?" Soala exclaimed. "Me?"

"That's right," Cierra confirmed. "There's no one else who can!"

"B-but, I'm not very competent! I'm still an apprentice!" Soala protested. "You expect me to be able to defeat a dragon?"

"Hey, if you didn't realize, that dragon came from the staff you made," Serene said. "You should at least take responsibility for that."

"I know, but still—"

"Soala can use magic! That's all that matters!" Lina added.

"Come on, you've been using magic for years," Cierra put in. "You were an apprentice two years ago, but that's a long time. Have some more confidence in yourself!"

"Waahhh!" Soala cried, her eyes swirling. "I-I can't! I'm not a hero like Ein, who's strong enough to shoulder the weight of the fate of the world! I can't play with the fate of the world like this! I—"

Soala was cut short by Cierra, who suddenly and unexpectedly moved forward to embrace her tightly. Soala's eyes grew wide in surprise. Serene raised an eyebrow, and then turned her head slightly to the side. Lina hopped up and down, watching intently, as Cierra stroked Soala's hair.

"Soala…" Cierra whispered, her eyes closed, still embracing her. "Do you realize that if you don't try, we will lose for sure? That there's no one else who can do this? That only you can do this with me?" She emphasized the last line.

"Cierra…" Soala's eyes closed slowly, then tightly, squeezing out a teardrop from each eye. She hugged Cierra back. "I-I know, but…"

"I have faith in you," Cierra reassured her. "Besides, who said we're going to be determining the fate of the world? It's just a test of our magic power. I know you can do this, Soala."

The two stood in silent embrace for a full minute. Serene glanced towards them, then quickly turned away again. Lina watched the two intently, as if she were trying to learn something. Serene noticed this and tugged her arm lightly, pulling her gently away from the two.

"Geez, Lina, what are you trying to do?" Serene scolded in a soft voice, trying not to disturb the atmosphere. "Let those two be!"

"But Lina wants to watch them!" Lina argued, also keeping her voice slightly low, but not as low as Serene's. "Lina thought they seem different from us!"

Surprised at the strange answer, Serene looked back at the two. _They _do_ seem different, somehow…_ she thought. "But they're in a private moment," Serene explained. "You shouldn't watch so closely. Do you like it when other people watch us when we hug?"

"Lina doesn't mind." Lina blushed, toying with her pigtails again. "Lots of people know we're together anyways!"

Serene blushed deeper than Lina. "Um, I guess, but that's not really the point."

"Lina doesn't get it…" Lina pouted.

"Oh, just forget it," Serene gave up. "It's just that other people might not like it when you watch them closely."

"Okay!" Lina smiled cheerfully. "They don't seem like that kind of people, though!"

"Huh?" Serene turned her head back to look at the two again. "How can you tell—oh…" Serene's face turned even redder at the sight of the two. Soala had buried her face in Cierra's chest, apparently crying, while Cierra was still stroking the back of her head with a gentle smile on her face. "Hey, Cierra, you do realize we're here, right…?" Her voice trailed off when Cierra put a finger to her lips.

"It's our little secret." Cierra winked. "So, Soala, what do you think?"

Soala pulled her head out of Cierra's chest slowly and wiped her eyes. She looked up into Cierra's soft eyes and blushed slightly. She could almost hear her heart pounding away. She blushed slightly and looked down, still in Cierra's embrace. Suddenly, without warning, she sprung up on tiptoe and pressed her lips to Cierra's. Cierra's eyes widened for a second, and then closed slowly as she accepted the sudden kiss. Serene muffled a gasp and turned her head away, blushing madly. Lina glanced back and forth between Serene and the two witches in confusion.

Soala quickly pulled away after a few seconds, tomato red. "I-I'm sorry, Cierra, I don't know what came over me. I—" She was stopped short as Cierra put the pad of her index finger on Soala's lips.

"It's okay, Soala," Cierra reassured her. "I understand."

Tears welled up in Soala's eyes again, but this time she was smiling. "Thank you, Cierra…"

"They say gender has nothing to do with love." Cierra grinned. Serene turned her head back to the two, and Cierra winked at her, making her blush yet again. "But let's talk about this later. There's a dragon out there waiting for us. Will you fight with me?"

Soala's eyes met Cierra's, and for a moment, Soala could see a glint of determination in her eyes. She looked down again and wiped her tears away, and then turned her head back up confidently, still in a loose embrace with Cierra. "Yes."

---

Ein made his way into the living room of what was now his house to find Fia sleeping peacefully. He tiptoed his way to her and sat down near her head and caressed it gently. He looked around the room, seemingly in search of something. He got up and started towards a cabinet, but a tug on his shirt stopped him.

"Ein?" Fia said, sitting up slowly. "I thought you were training."

Ein turned to her with his gentle smile. "Yeah, I was, but something came up. I guess you were awake since I came in, right? Where do we keep our potions again?"

Fia looked startled. "Um, I guess so. Why do you need a potion? Is someone hurt?" She quickly headed for a cabinet off to the side of the room.

"No, but it's quite a long story. Why don't you come with me this time, and I'll explain on the way?"

Fia nodded. "Is a potion with just a couple more uses remaining all right?"

"Um, try to find one with as many drinks remaining as possible," Ein said after a moment of thought. "We're going to need all the help we can get."

Fia almost fainted again, but steadied herself. "Now I'm really worried. Okay, here's a new one I haven't used since making it, so it still has 15 uses."

"Okay, that's perfect," Ein agreed. "Well, we better get going then. I'm going to fly, so hang on to me, all right?"

Fia climbed onto Ein's back and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm ready."

"Mmmgghh!" Ein cried. "F-Fia…" His voice was very strained. "Y-you're choking m-me!"

Fia looked where her arms were to realize that she had wrapped them tightly around Ein's neck. "Oops, sorry." She giggled sheepishly and loosened her grip. "Is that okay now?"

"Yeah, thanks." Ein grinned slightly to himself. "Hang on tight to the potion now!" He made his way to the door and took off, knowing CoCo would be back home later.

"So, are you going to tell me what's going on?" Fia asked after a few seconds in the air. "Why do you need so much potion?"

"Well, it's like this…" Ein filled her in on the events of the afternoon. "…So now, we're heading back to the Crystal Caverns to pick up Cierra and hopefully Soala," he finished.

"Wow, sounds like it's been a long day," Fia remarked. "I hope CoCo will be able to cook a lot of food tonight, because we're all going to be very hungry."

Ein laughed softly. "Yeah, I guess." He began his descent once he found the entrance to the cave. He could see Rose and Ledah standing together outside. Serene, carrying Lina in her arms, appeared from the cave entrance. Moments later, Cierra emerged, extending a hand back into the darkness to pull out Soala. "Looks like Cierra managed to convince Soala to fight!" Ein exclaimed. "I wonder if I can carry three sprites?"

"What?" Fia exclaimed. "Ein, you have to carry them?"

"Of course." Ein chuckled. "You keep your exclusive spot up there, and I'll carry maybe one of the two and have Ledah carry the other, okay?"

Fia fidgeted. "That sounds alright, but can you handle that?"

"Don't worry, Fia," Ein reassured her. "These wings were made to handle heavier weight than Serene's are."

"That's true…"

Ein landed gently on the ground a few meters from the cave. He raised his eyebrow when he saw Cierra leading Soala to him hand in hand, but quickly straightened up. Fia released her grip on him and moved to stand beside Ein, holding the potion bottle.

"Fia?" Serene exclaimed. "Are you feeling better already?"

Fia pouted. "What do you mean, 'already'?" She held out the potion bottle. "Here, Cierra, this is for you. Ein filled me in on everything."

"Oh, thank you," Cierra smiled, taking the bottle with her free hand. "I'm so sorry for troubling you. So you believed his story when he told you there's a giant dragon that burst out of a staff that I just started using?"

"You have to admit, it sounds a bit crazy," Rose remarked. "But remember, you're the one who believed right away about the threat of the Accursed back in Nelde two years ago, Cierra."

Cierra grinned sheepishly. "I guess so."

Fia giggled. "Don't worry, I trust Ein," she reassured her. "Do you have all your magic equipment, you two?"

"Um, let's see here… got that and that and that…" Soala counted off as she looked over the equipment in her bag. "Yup, looks like we're all set."

"Are you the equipment girl or something?" Ledah remarked. "Well whatever. Let's get going."

"So um, who's going with who?" Soala asked nervously. Her hand tightened around Cierra's.

"Well, who's the heavier one?" Ein asked casually. "I can probably handle more weight… why are you all staring at me?" He looked around at the angry faces. "Um, did I say something bad again?"

Rose sighed. "Ein, you have much to learn about a girl's sensitivity to her weight."

"Um, oops." Ein laughed nervously. "Well, anyway, we should get going."

"Soala, why don't you choose? It doesn't really matter to me," Cierra said. "Although, I think Ein will probably give you a more comfortable position."

"Uh, Ein?" Fia gave Ein a sideways glance. "What exactly is she talking about?"

"I actually have no idea," Ein answered. "Well, if it matters, I was the one who carried Cierra back here, but…"

"That's right!" Cierra smiled cheerfully. "Besides, he was the only one not carrying someone."

Fia looked around at the others. "Oh, I see." Her face flushed slightly. "I'm sorry, Ein."

"Don't mention it. But come on, we should be going soon!" Ein pressed.

"Okay, I'll go with Master Ein," Soala agreed finally, blushing slightly as she walked over to him. "Take good care of me, okay?"

"No problem." Ein smiled. "Fia, climb on, all right?"

Fia looked disappointed. "Okay, fine." Ein knelt down and Fia grabbed on behind him._ I guess I'm not the princess…_

"All good?" Ein asked. Fia nodded her head beside his. "Okay then. Soala, are you ready?" Soala nodded too. Ein walked over beside her and picked her up easily, making her blush slightly, then turned to Ledah.

"This feels kind of dangerous…" Cierra giggled nervously. "Are you sure?"

Ledah had put Rose on one shoulder and Cierra on the other. "Um, I guess this isn't going to work." He gave up and turned to Ein. "I guess we should do what Ein's doing."

"This is taking a while," Serene remarked. "Come on, just get on, Rose."

"The dragon's waiting!" Lina chirped in a singsong voice. "It's bad to keep strong enemies waiting, because they'll crush you when you get there!"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Rose grumbled, climbing onto Ledah's back and grabbing hold of his shoulders. "That means Cierra gets the nice spot."

"Does it matter?" Ledah asked matter-of-factly. "Really, we just need to all get there safely."

"Okay then," Cierra interrupted. "Let's go, Ledah!" Ledah placed an arm around Cierra's shoulders and let her drop a little bit, and then put his other arm under her legs and lifted her off the ground. "Gee, that feels a bit weird," Cierra said, giggling.

"Everything's okay here," Soala said. "Shall we get going?"

"That took a while," Serene complained. "Well, let's go then!" She quickly scooped up Lina and lifted off the ground.

"She's so impatient!" Soala wailed. "Oh well, let's go too, Master Ein." Ein nodded and lifted off. Fia's hands lost their grip, but she regained her balance after a second of struggling.

"Everything okay?" Ein asked, startled.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Fia replied. "Don't worry about me."

Ledah followed Ein from behind him. After a minute of silent flying, Soala turned her head to Ein. "Can I ask you something?"

Ein nodded. "What is it?"

"Well…" Soala fidgeted with her hands. "Do you… do you think of me as a supporting character? I feel as if I can't do much, and I'm not as strong as you are. I have so much to learn. Why does Cierra have so much faith in me?"

Ein thought for a second, and then smiled widely. "No, I don't think so. Nobody I know is a supporting character. We are all star characters in our own way."

_Ein…_ Fia pulled herself up higher so that her chin could rest on Ein's shoulder. "That's right. Besides, you are the only star in the story of your life."

Soala turned her head away to look at the sky, which was glowing bright yellow-orange as the sun was beginning to set. "I guess that makes sense." She turned to face the two again. "Thanks, Ein, Fia. I think I might be able to have a bit more confidence in myself now."

Fia smiled. "You're welcome. And remember, a lot more people than you think are counting on you. Don't lose confidence in yourself, or it will let them down."

"We all think of you as a star on the team, just like everyone else," Ein added. "Don't think of yourself as anything less."

Tears came to Soala's eyes again, which rolled down her cheeks as she smiled. "I understand. I'm so glad to have such kind friends."

"We're almost there, Soala," Ein informed her.

"Is it that dragon over there?" Fia pointed at the looming orange figure in the distance.

Ein nodded. "That's right. Soala, get ready. We'll be nearby in case something happens, okay?"

Soala wiped away her tears, and a look of determination appeared on her face. "Yes."

The rest of the flight continued in silence. As they approached, Serene began her descent and Ein and Ledah followed. All three of them touched down a few meters away from the staff. Soala and Cierra were set down on their feet and walked toward each other. Soala reached in her bag and pulled out Cierra's most powerful staff, the Southern Cross, and handed it to her. She pulled out her own staff and a Book of Kirie at the ready.

"Let's leave the potion in here," Cierra suggested. "We'll pull it out to use when we need it."

Soala nodded. "Well, it looks like we're ready."

The dragon curled its way down towards Cierra and Soala. "So you are Cierra's battle partner, is that correct?" it asked Soala. Soala nodded.

Cierra, however, looked confused. "Did I tell you my name? I don't recall doing so…"

The dragon blinked. "Um, well, we dragons have exceptional hearing."

"So you could hear everything we said before?" Cierra pressed. "An eavesdropping dragon, hm?"

"Ah, n-no, it's not what you—" the dragon began.

"That could come in handy!" Cierra seemed to be plotting something.

"Er, yes, I suppose it does… hey, are we going to battle or not?" the dragon quickly changed the subject.

"Ah, yes, of course. We're ready." Cierra readied her staff. "We won't lose!"

The dragon wasted no time in summoning a small fireball and hurling it at Cierra, who ducked under her fireproof hat. The fireball quickly dissipated.

"Hey, that's cheating, you know!" the dragon complained.

"You never said no fireproof clothing," Cierra replied matter-of-factly. She readied her own attack and launched three fireballs in quick succession. The fireballs hit the dragon's head, but didn't seem to phase it. "Now that's more like cheating!" she cried. "Fire absorption?"

"No, I'm just highly resistant to it," the dragon replied.

Soala had been feeling around in her bag for the right staff and finally found what she was looking for. Quietly, she snuck around to the dragon's side, behind a tree, and readied an ice spell while Cierra kept the dragon busy.

Meanwhile, the dragon fired another, larger fireball at Cierra, who once again ducked behind her hat, but the fireball was intense enough to flow around the hat. _Good thing I'm still resistant to fire,_ she thought as she fired off another round of triple fireballs. Suddenly, she realized Soala was missing and glanced around quickly.

Soala glanced around the tree to see Cierra frantically looking around. She quickly readied her staff and chanted the release spell. Several large ice crystals appeared and shot quickly towards the dragon's head. The crystals shattered as they hit, causing the dragon to reel backwards slightly. Soala glanced down at Cierra, who gave her a thumbs-up and a wink. She returned the thumbs-up gesture and made her way out from her hiding spot.

Cierra turned quickly back to the dragon and fired another salvo of fireballs, testing different spots on the dragon for a weakness. All the shots, however, seemed to create the same result. Soala readied another ice spell as she ran towards Cierra.

The dragon quickly recovered from the surprise attack and roared weakly. "And you call me a cheater?" it cried, forming a fireball easily three times the size of the previous one. The fireball launched towards Soala and seemed to home in on her as she approached Cierra. Seeing this, Cierra ran in between Soala and the fireball's path and stopped the fireball with her body. Startled, Soala lost her balance and fell to the ground, but still kept a firm grip on the staff.

"Are you okay?" Soala exclaimed, running to Cierra's side once the fireball dissipated. She reached into her bag to pull out the potion.

Cierra nodded weakly. "Y-yeah, I'll be fine once I take a drink of that." Soala handed Cierra the bottle, and Cierra took a mouthful and swallowed. "Ah, we owe Fia one."

Soala nodded and turned to fire the ice spell she was readying. The ice crystals slammed into the dragon's head again, causing it to reel back a bit more than before. "Do you think he's almost defeated yet?" she asked, turning back to Cierra.

Cierra glanced back at the dragon. "Maybe. Hey, that's the Book of Kirie, right?" She pointed at the book that Soala was holding. "Let me try a spell from that." She chanted the words on one of the pages, and let fly a shard of light, which slammed into the dragon's body. "It seems to have some effect," she remarked.

"Wait a second," Soala said. "I went through once and read the entire book. There are instructions for a combo attack by two people."

Cierra suppressed her laughter. "Um, what?"

"A combo attack." Soala looked at her and pouted. "I'm not joking, okay? I don't remember what page… where's the index…?"

"Looks like we might not have enough time," Cierra said, noticing the dragon's recovery. "You keep looking while I hold him off, okay?"

Soala nodded. "Hey, maybe you should use my ice staff," she suggested. "It's probably more effective than your fire staff."

Cierra thought for a second and nodded. "I suppose you're right." She picked up the staff Soala was using. "I haven't used this before, though…" She chanted the only ice spell she knew, causing snow crystals to blow into the dragon's face. "Um, Soala, some help here?"

"Oh, sorry!" Soala looked up from the book and recited the spell for Cierra. "Think you can remember it all?"

"I hope so… ah!" A fireball hit the ground just in front of Cierra. "Soala, please hurry."

"Don't take your eyes off your opponent… or something like that," the dragon chided, readying another fireball and quickly launching it. Cierra stood in front of Soala and resisted the attack, then took another swig of the potion.

"This thing is so useful, I swear," Cierra murmured quietly, holding the potion in front of her. She held up the staff and chanted the spell that Soala recited, but made an error in the last line. A powerful gust of wind blew from the wand towards the dragon with no effect. "Aww, I screwed up again!" Cierra cried.

Behind her, Soala had found the index and was flipping to the instructions page. She quickly located it and skimmed over the instructions. "Okay, got it." She flipped her way through the small section of combo attacks in search of an ice spell, but couldn't find one. "Cierra, this book only has holy spells!"

"Well, that _is_ the Book of Kirie," Cierra replied. "Kirie used only holy magic, remember, I think."

"We're going to have to use what we have," Soala said. "Ooh, this one looks fun! Cierra, let's do this!"

Cierra gritted her teeth. "We need time first!" She tried the ice spell again, but left out an entire line. A small ice cube dropped out of the staff. In frustration, Cierra picked up the ice cube and threw it as hard as she could at the dragon. The ice cube embedded itself in the dragon's nostril, making it flail around in confusion. Cierra almost did a double-take as she viewed the most ridiculous attack to ever succeed.

"Cierra, come on!" Soala called. Cierra ran over to her side and dropped down to her knees. "See, you chant this part, and I chant this part," Soala explained, pointing at a few lines of text on each side of the page. "We have to be holding the same staff for this to work."

Cierra held up Soala's staff and looked it over. "Is this one going to work?"

"It meets the requirements, so it should be fine." Soala put her hand over Cierra's on the staff while holding the book in her other hand. Cierra blushed slightly as she grabbed onto the book with her free hand. "Ready, Cierra?"

"On three!" Cierra counted off while steadying the staff to aim straight at the dragon. "One, two, three!" Both of them started chanting off the spell. Once they finished, a giant ball of flame surrounded by icy blue aura ribbons appeared on the tip of the staff. On release, the ball shot forward, but the energy continued to stream out of the staff, creating a torrent of red and blue mingling together.

The dragon recovered and saw the giant beam of energy headed its way. "Crap," it muttered, quickly conjuring up its own flame. It breathed a giant stream of flame at the beam, but the beam overpowered the flame easily and knocked the dragon over in a flash of violet-red light.

Cierra and Soala ended the spell and began to make their way towards the dragon, which had collapsed below the Golden Rod. "Did… did we win?" Soala asked wearily.

The dragon raised its head slightly to meet the gaze of the two witches. "Ah, such power… I've never seen anything like it. The win is yours, Cierra and Soala." With that, the dragon's head fell back down on the ground.

Cierra panicked. "Um, Mr. Dragon, are you okay?" She kneeled down beside its head and reached out a hand.

"Are you crazy?" The dragon snapped, raising its head quickly. "Of course I'm fine! I'm just a bit exhausted."

Cierra breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, good. So does that mean you'll fight with us?"

"Your wish is my command," the dragon replied. "My power shall be yours. Make good use of it."

"That's good, isn't it?" Soala smiled. She walked over to stand beside Cierra and held her hand in her own. "You have a… new staff… to use, now…" Her voice trailed off and she collapsed on the ground.

Cierra quickly dropped to her knees to cradle Soala's head. "Wha-? Soala? Soala! _Soala!!_"

--

A/N: Woot, Cierra and Soala! The first romance scene turned out much better than I had expected. I must have really been in the mood for writing that XD

Hmm, I had actually intended on pairing Claude with either Cierra or Soala. I guess he's a lonely guy now… what should I do?

By the way, this is the funniest dragon I've ever heard of, hahaha XD

I need a setting recap. Okay, this is the third day of the story. The first was the day when Serene came to Fia and Lina's house to find Ein. The time at the end of this chapter is late afternoon/early evening, and the place is some training spot in the forest on the outskirts of Elendia. I think I have that all right… I sometimes have a hard time keeping track of time and place… It's funny. It feels like a lot of time has passed since Ein got his wings, but really, it happened just the previous day.

On the next chapter of The White Wings…

Chapter 26: Time to Rest… Again (Release on August 12, 2007)

After yet another eventful supper at Fia and Lina's house, everyone goes to sleep. Ein is haunted by a dream again, and learns of a surprise headed his way…


	26. Time to Rest Again

Sorry, everyone! With everything that's gone on this week, I've had little time to write. It's the first time that I've missed the deadline, so please forgive me! XD

Review response: Yes, in fact, the idea about the star of our life is from Negima! by Ken Akamatsu. That line was one of the most inspiring lines he's had, so I couldn't resist the urge to put it in.

Anyway, RiviPSP: I've finished Mireno Cemetery! I feel like I'm going through quite quickly. I haven't started on Yggdrasil yet. Well, this chapter's long enough already, so I'll stop talking here. Enjoy the extra-long and extra-steamy chapter! In fact, I believe this is the longest chapter to date XD

--

As the sun began its descent into the horizon, Ein carried a resting Soala towards the family house while Ledah carried the worried Cierra, following Ein. Serene and Lina followed behind them. The three of them made their descent quietly and entered the house without a word.

Ein made his way to the living room and lay Soala down on the couch. Cierra followed quickly and sat down where Soala's head would rest before Ein could set her head down. Ein looked at her quizzically but understood and set Soala's head in Cierra's lap. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

"I can eat in a bit," Cierra replied. "I'm more concerned about Soala, though." She pulled both Soala's and her hat and set both down next to her feet and gently caressed Soala's cheek.

"Um, I think Soala's fine," Ein reassured her. "She seems pretty exhausted, though. Well, anyway, eat whenever you're ready." He pulled all the weapons they were using for training that day and set them down in a corner, and then left the living room to join the others in the dining room.

"…and so, we really didn't get much training done." Serene was talking to Fia about the events at the forest while Fia was resting. Ein entered and looked around. CoCo seemed busy cooking in the kitchen, hurriedly cutting food and tending to the stove. Ledah was talking with Rose in the corner in a voice too soft to hear. Lina hopped her way to a fruits basket and made off with an applecot. Ein decided to help CoCo with the cooking and walked over to the kitchen.

"Hey, CoCo," Ein greeted as he entered. "You seem kinda busy."

CoCo glanced up from the cutting board. "You have too many friends, Master Ein," she answered. "How was your day?"

"It's been one heck of a day." Ein chuckled and headed over to the stove. He stirred the thick red-orange mixture in the pot. "We need more time to rest and relax lately."

"That's for sure," CoCo agreed. "I need some time for R&R myself." She picked up the cutting board and carried it to the pot to dump its contents in. "Especially when I have to take care of so many of you."

"Maybe you should get another fairy to help you," Ein suggested, glancing around the kitchen at the food spills and unprepared food. "You're going to have your hands full if you're on your own."

CoCo pondered the thought for a moment. "That might not be such a bad idea!" She cleaned off a fish using tap water. "Maybe I should. Do you have any ideas who?"

Ein gave her a sideways glance. "You know, there's a fairy that's always floating outside our door telling people that this is Lina, Fia, and Ein's house," he reminded her. "Don't you think she could do a lot more than that?"

Coco thought for a moment and scraped the scales off the fish in silence. She spoke after about half a minute. "Hey, that's right! Wow, I never thought of that, because I usually just fly right by her."

Ein grinned sheepishly. "I do too sometimes." He grabbed a fish himself and copied CoCo's actions. "But if all she ever did was tell people this is our house, do you think she'd be any useful at housework?"

"Never know until you try," CoCo recited. "And never judge a book by its cover." She giggled. "I'll talk to her tomorrow. Do you know her name?"

"Uh…" Ein thought hard. "No, I don't think she's ever told me her name. You know, now that I think of it, there's usually one fairy floating somewhere just explaining to people where they are." He finished scraping off the scales and put his fish next to CoCo's on the plate.

"Two fish should be enough," CoCo mumbled, filling a pot partially with water. She put a metal stand inside and rested the plate with the fish on top, above the water, and then turned on the stove's flame. "Anyway, what about that fairy you rescued way back then at Heaven's Gate? NoNo, I think it was?"

"You could talk to her too," Ein agreed. "Although I feel like she won't be much help." He got out a second cutting board and knife and began to cut the vegetables on a plate nearby. "Besides, she seems a bit… different from the other fairies."

"How so?" CoCo placed a chunk of meat on her cutting board and began to remove the fat. "She looks exactly like us."

"Well, for one, she jokes around a lot. And well, a lot of her jokes are… shall we say, sexual." Ein swept the cut vegetables back into the plate and began to cut more. "Do you get what I mean?"

CoCo was silent as she took a frying pan out and poured a bit of oil on it and put it on the stove. "I guess… but how would you know that?"

"I talk to her every so often," Ein answered nervously. He finished cutting the vegetables and put them near the frying pan that CoCo had gotten ready. He picked up a chunk of dough. "What's this for?" he asked.

"Oh, that's for baking cookies later," CoCo said. "Anyway, I've heard Lina and Serene call you a pervert before, but I didn't really understand why. But now I think I do."

"Don't get the wrong idea," Ein cried, putting down the cookie dough. "After being with her for a day or so, you'll probably feel the same way."

"We'll see," CoCo replied, a twinkle in her eye. "You're so fun to tease sometimes, Master Ein." She giggled at Ein's blank gaze. "Oh, nevermind. Take the plates and utensils out and tell the others that dinner's ready."

Ein nodded as he pondered what CoCo just said. As he exited the kitchen holding several plates with forks and knives set on top, he decided to not think about it. He put the stack of plates down on the dining room table and set them around the table as best he could. "Dinner's just about ready," he told everyone as he made his way back into the kitchen.

Fia was still talking to Serene about the events of the day, but looked up and watched Ein walk back towards the kitchen. Serene looked at her and smiled. "Isn't it great to have a boyfriend who does all he does?" she winked.

Fia quickly snapped her attention back to Serene and flushed a deep red. "I-it's not like that!" she stammered. "Ein and I, we're—"

Serene placed a finger on Fia's lips, quieting her, grinning knowingly. "You don't need to deny it, Fia," she whispered. "Ever since you two made up after that misunderstanding, you've been much closer to him. I can tell just by looking at you two together." She took her finger off Fia's lips.

Fia flushed even deeper red. "B-but, can I already think of him as a boyfriend?" she asked. "I'm worried that that might move things along too quickly."

"Don't worry about it," Serene reassured her. "It's enough to be boyfriend and girlfriend as long as you two love each other. It's what matters, right?"

Fia nodded. "Thanks, Serene." She glanced around to find that no one was listening to their conversation. "So, what about you and Lina?" she asked.

"Huh?" Serene's cheeks began to turn red while Fia's returned to their natural color. "What do you mean?"

"Aren't you and Lina like Ein and me now?" Fia pressed, a mischievous look on her face. "Does that mean she's your girlfriend too?"

Serene's face turned a deeper shade of pink. "Ah… I guess that's right," she confessed, sighing. "I guess that makes me and Ein pretty similar."

"Huh?" Fia looked confused.

"We both like girls," Serene answered almost casually, laughing softly. "It's kinda funny, isn't it?"

Fia nodded nervously. "And to think you and Lina were arguing every minute just a couple years ago. It's almost unbelievable. But remember, I'm only for Ein, okay?"

Serene giggled. The red color had left her face. "Don't worry, I don't have any plans to try to steal you away from him." She looked up to see Ein enter the dining room again, this time carrying two plates of food. "Looks like it's time to eat!" She headed towards the table, leaving behind Fia, who just watched blankly, deep in thought. Lina joined Serene, jumping around her excitedly and throwing questions at her, but Serene seemed to just keep walking. After a moment, Fia shook herself out of her reverie and joined the others at the table.

Ein entered the dining room again with another two plates of food to find everyone sitting down around the table. Lina sat at one end, with Serene on one adjacent corner and Rose on the other. Ledah sat beside Rose, and Fia had her seat by Serene. Cierra and Soala were nowhere to be found. Ein looked around, then shrugged and set the food down and took his place at the other end of the table, between Fia and Ledah and across from Lina.

"CoCo's an amazing cook," Ein remarked. "I'm amazed that she doesn't work for a salary."

Fia giggled. "We don't use money here, Ein. Haven't you noticed?"

"Yeah, we trade other things!" Serene added. "Rocks, minerals, fish, just about anything!"

"If you don't use money, then how do you know what money is?" Ledah asked.

"I was just wondering the same thing," Ein said.

"Well, we sprites know a bit about Asgard and their currency system," Fia informed them. "It seems very interesting. Maybe we should use something like that too."

"What are you all babbling about?" Lina interrupted. "Come on, the food's getting cold, and Lina's hungry!"

Ein chuckled. "Yeah, let's eat."

---

Cierra listened to the commotion next door as she sat with Soala's peacefully sleeping head on her lap. Soala's lips were curled upwards in a slight smile, and she rested on her back. One arm rested on her stomach, and the other had dropped and dangled towards the floor. Cierra smiled as she watched the sleeping beauty.

"Thank you…" Cierra whispered, so quietly that no one more than a meter away could hear. "Thank you for believing in yourself, Soala." Her next sentence was barely audible even a foot away. "And thank you for returning my feelings…"

With nothing to do and slightly bored, Cierra began to trace invisible patterns on Soala's clothes with her finger. Absentmindedly, her finger traced its way over Soala's waist, circled around her midsection several times, then traced slowly up her chest and between her breasts. Cierra suddenly realized where her finger was and pulled away quickly, blushing slightly, but soon after found her hand in the same spot, tracing around Soala's soft breasts.

Soala moaned softly, causing Cierra to jerk her hand away again, but the moaning stopped as soon as she did. After a moment of nervous silence, Cierra could hear Soala's soft mumbling voice. "Cierra… vv you… I…" Cierra couldn't make out most of the words because Soala's lips stayed mostly closed.

Slowly, Cierra brought her hand up to Soala's face and caressed gentle patterns on her cheek. Unconsciously, Soala's hand that had been resting on the floor rose and held onto the hand that was brushing against her cheek. Cierra seemed surprised for a second, but the surprise disappeared and she smiled and continued her brushes on Soala's cheek, dragging along Soala's hand. She nervously looked around, and relaxed when she confirmed that no one else was in the room and that there was still a commotion in the neighboring room.

Cierra turned her attention back to Soala and caressing her cheeks. With her free hand, she gently brushed away a few strands of light blue hair that had fallen on Soala's face. Cierra gently cupped Soala's cheek with her palm, and Soala unconsciously placed her own hand over Cierra's and smiled, seemingly enjoying the touch. Soala moaned softly again, and Cierra smiled at the gentle sound.

Suddenly, Soala sprung up from her resting spot and semi-tackled Cierra with her whole body, throwing her arms around Cierra's neck, taking her so completely by surprise that Cierra was knocked down onto her back, with Soala pressing down on her with the front of her body. Soala propped herself up on her arms and smiled as she looked down at Cierra's shocked expression.

"W-wha?" Cierra finally whispered, trying to keep her voice low despite the noise in the neighboring room and her own surprise. "You were awake?"

Soala grinned. "Well, you kinda sorta woke me up," she replied, slowly letting her body back down onto Cierra's. Cierra gasped slightly for breath, as the sudden attack had dramatically increased her circulation rate. Soala brought her face so close that they almost touched. "Is this bad?"

Cierra looked into Soala's eyes for a moment, searching for any sign of harmful intent and, finding none, smiled and placed her own arms on Soala's back. "No," she whispered. "I'm glad you're okay." She closed her eyes and sighed. "So glad…" She applied gentle pressure to Soala's back, and Soala responded by lowering her body further with her head to the side to avoid hitting their heads together.

"I'm sorry to have worried you," Soala said. "Was I unconscious long?" She pressed her chest on Cierra's, mingling their body heat together.

"Well, I think the others should be eating dinner by now, so it's been quite a while," Cierra answered. Her eyes stayed closed as she took in the full feel of Soala's body pressing against hers, making her body heat up. She could feel Soala's body also heating up.

Soala looked slightly surprised. "Aren't you hungry? You don't have to wait for me, you know." She toyed with Cierra's long red hair with a wandering hand, giggling softly at the light tingle caused by the heat from Cierra's body.

"It's okay," Cierra reassured her. "You're more important to me anyway. Are you feeling hungry at all? You really gave it your all out there."

Soala nodded. "Yeah, I'd like a bit to eat. But Cierra..." her voice trailed off.

"M-hm?"

"Can we stay like this just a bit longer?"

Cierra smiled and gave a soft "mm" and small nod of affirmation and ran her hands up and down on Soala's back, making Soala moan softly. Soala propped herself back up on her elbows, bringing their faces close together. After a moment of looking into each other's eyes, Cierra slowly closed her eyes and parted her lips slightly. Soala brought her own lips towards Cierra's, closing her eyes as they made contact. The kiss lasted a few seconds, after which Soala pulled back reluctantly, breathing heavily. Below her, Cierra was also breathing heavily and smiling. They stayed in that position for about a minute, and then Soala pushed herself off of Cierra's body and sat up. Cierra stood up and placed their witch hats on the couch where she had been sitting. She offered a hand to Soala, who smiled, took it, and let Cierra lead her towards the dining room to join in the commotion.

---

"CoCo, these cookies are really good!" Ein remarked.

Cierra and Soala had joined the group in the dining room about an hour earlier, and everyone had finished eating dinner since. CoCo had also finished baking the cookies and was enjoying them with everyone else in the dining room, along with a basket of fruit.

"Why, thank you," CoCo replied, blushing happily. "This is one of my favorite recipes! I'm glad you like it."

Lina popped an entire cookie into her mouth. "Mm!"

Fia looked worried. "Lina, you'll choke if you do that!"

"Don't worry about it," Serene told her. Fia glanced at her in surprise, but Serene just winked. "She's used to it anyways. Nothing's going to happen."

Fia sighed. "Serene, you're a bit too carefree." She took a nibble of the cookie in her hand. "But these cookies _are_ good. You have to teach me the recipe sometime, CoCo."

CoCo looked surprised. "I thought you don't like desserts anymore, Fia. I mean, ever since Ein came down to Riviera, you've been skipping them… oh, should I not have said that?" She looked nervously at Fia's glare. "Um, nevermind…"

Rose giggled from her spot. "Yeah, I remember hearing about that." She took a bite out of a cookie. "But I think these are irresistible, even to the most determined of dieters." Ledah watched in silence and bit into an applecot. Rose looked at him in confusion. "Don't you want to try the cookies, Ledah? They're delicious."

"I'm not too fond of sweets," Ledah replied. "I prefer natural foods. They're better for the body." He finished up the applecot and grabbed a banango from the basket. "This should be enough for me."

"I can't really say I'm surprised," Serene remarked. "There's gotta be some way he keeps in such good shape, after all."

Fia cleared her throat. "Serene?" She extended the second syllable for a full second.

"Oh, oops, sorry!" Serene grinned widely and winked as a tease.

Cierra reached out and got herself a cookie and broke it in half. "Here, Soala." Soala held out her hand, but Cierra pulled away. "No, no, say 'ah.'"

Soala blushed bright pink. "But that's embarrassing!" she protested. "I—" she was cut off when Cierra pushed the cookie half into her mouth. Soala released a sigh of resignation and bit into the cookie. "Wow, it really is good!"

Cierra bit into the part that Soala had just bitten from. "I agree entirely," she commented. "These are the best I've ever tried." She offered the piece to Soala again, who didn't hesitate this time and plucked the rest of the piece out of Cierra's hand.

Ein glanced out the window at the darkening sky. "Well, it seems to be getting late," he said. "It's about time to clean up now." With that, he picked up all the used plates from everyone, stacked them up, and went to the kitchen with all the forks and knives. A clatter could be heard from the kitchen after a moment. "You sure used a lot of stuff here," Ein's voice called from the kitchen.

"Um, yeah, I didn't have time to clean up yet," CoCo called back sheepishly. She got up and sighed, carrying a cookie that was just about as tall as she was. "Time to finish up then! You guys should get some rest." Everyone watched as she flew off towards the kitchen.

Serene broke the short stunned silence. "Now, wasn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen?"

Lina perked up. "What?"

"Yes," Fia agreed. "It isn't often that you see something like that, even in Elendia."

"You guys sure are lucky to have a maid fairy," Rose remarked. "It seems like not much would get done without her here."

Cierra giggled. "That's true. I'm very grateful for fairies too." Soala nodded in agreement.

Lina pouted. "Serene said CoCo was cute?"

Serene winked and ruffled Lina's hair. "Yep." Lina drooped her head and was silent.

Rose chuckled at the scene. "Oh dear, oh dear." She rose from her chair. "Well, Ein's right. We should be getting some rest soon."

Ledah rose to follow her. "Thank you very much for allowing me to freeload here." The two of them left the dining room and headed for the living room.

"I guess I'll be spending the night here too," Serene added. "Is that okay with you, Fia?"

"Of course! You two have fun together." Fia winked, causing Serene to blush very deeply and Lina to glance between the two of them in confusion. Serene shook her head quickly and, with a wave, proceeded to drag Lina with her towards Lina's room.

"Looks like we'll be heading up too," Cierra added. "It's okay, right? I'll just sleep in the spare room like I did last night. Soala's staying, right, Soala?" She looked convincingly at her partner, who sighed again in resignation and nodded in agreement. Cierra smiled in satisfaction and turned back to Fia, who was looking at her quizzically, but decided not to ask.

"Go ahead," Fia agreed. "Um, you two have fun too, I guess." Soala blushed bright red in embarrassment, and Cierra just smiled and pulled her along.

_Seems like the house will be packed tonight. Time to see how Ein's doing._ Fia made her way to the kitchen, where Ein and CoCo were washing dishes together.

CoCo noticed her entry. "Ah, Fia, are you going to help me with the dishes too?"

Ein heard CoCo's greeting and looked up to smile at Fia. "It's okay, we're almost done anyway."

Fia picked up a dry cloth and began to dry off rinsed dishes. "It'll be faster if I help, right?" She stacked a few and brought them over to the counter beneath the cabinet.

"Thanks, Fia," Ein said. He finished rinsing off the last few plates and turned off the tap. He picked up another dry cloth to help with the drying while CoCo cleaned up the counter. Within minutes, the kitchen was clean.

"Thanks for everything, you two," CoCo said, bowing repeatedly. "It's not often that I get help with chores."

"Don't worry about it," Ein replied, patting CoCo on the head. "You worked very hard today. We should be thanking you." CoCo blushed with pleasure.

"Well, we'll be going to sleep then," Fia said. "You should get some rest too, CoCo."

"Oh, I'll be getting to sleep soon too," CoCo reassured her. "You two go on ahead." With a nod, Ein and Fia headed upstairs. CoCo watched them go, and then began organizing things in the kitchen.

Silently, Ein and Fia made their way up the stairs and stopped outside the door to Fia's room. "Well, good night," Ein said with a small wave and began to walk towards his room.

Fia reached out and grabbed Ein's sleeve. "Ein…"

Ein turned around. "Yes?"

"Um…" Fia's face began to turn red. "Ein, do… do you want to, um, sleep together tonight?" She looked down at the floor in embarrassment.

"Huh?" The red color seemed to spread to Ein's face. "Um, I don't mind, but…"

"Okay then!" Fia smiled happily up at him. Some of the red color left her face, leaving it tinted pink. "Go change and come back here, okay?"

Ein paused for a moment, and then nodded. As he headed off towards his room, Fia watched his back for a few seconds, and then disappeared into her room. She opened her closet, took a look inside, then shook her head and stripped down to her underwear and placed the clothes neatly in a basket half-full of clothing. She got under the covers on the bed and, after a few seconds of waiting, began to shiver.

A few minutes passed in silence, and then the door softly creaked open. Ein entered, bathed in the moonlight from the window, wearing simple pull-on pajamas and carrying both his Oracion and Fia's Needle of Light. Fia watched him enter from her spot in the bed, while doing her best to appear to be asleep. Ein placed the weapons down in the corner and slowly made his way over to the bed where Fia lay. Fia's eyes opened wide and took in the full scene in front of her, almost breathless.

"Hey, are you still awake?" Ein whispered. "I thought you were asleep already."

Fia appeared overcome by amazement. The moonlight shimmered off Ein's wings, giving off dim sparkles of light from the tips. "Ein…" she finally managed. "You… you look so beautiful."

Fia couldn't see the faint blush that appeared on Ein's face. "Um, thank you, I guess." He lifted the covers slightly and slid under, folding his wings behind him. Fia recovered from her reverie when Ein's wings disappeared under the covers and turned her attention to him. She realized she was still shivering from the cold and gently placed her hands around Ein's neck, pulling him closer to her so she could feel the full warmth of his body.

"You're warm," Fia commented under her breath. She pulled him close enough for much of their bodies to come in contact. "I feel kind of cold."

Ein nodded and closed his eyes. His own arms made their way around Fia's waist, but the texture caused his eyes to spring open. "Fia, are you wearing anything?" he asked nervously.

"I'm down to my underwear," Fia answered, blushing. "It's okay, right?"

Ein blushed a bright red that almost made his face glow in the dark. "Um, y-yeah," he stammered after a moment. "I guess I should too, then."

"What?" Fia looked at him quizzically, and then heard rustling under the blanket. Nervously, she released her hold on him and pulled away slightly. Suddenly, she saw Ein throw something out from under the covers. After a bit more rustling, he threw a second object out, and the rustling stopped. "What are you doing?"

"Now we're the same," Ein whispered. Fia looked confused and felt around his body, then realized what he had done.

"You didn't have to," Fia protested, blushing madly.

"It's okay," Ein said, smiling. "Besides, we'll be warmer like this." He took Fia into his arms again, and this time Fia pressed a bit harder into his body. Ein rolled so he was on his back, his wings flat out. Fia followed up and rested on top of him with her head on his bare chest. Her arms were still around his neck, and his still around her waist.

"I've wanted to be like this with you for a long time, Ein," Fia whispered. She slid towards Ein's head and propped herself up on her elbows so that she was face-to-face with him. The moonlight illuminated Ein's face, on which Fia saw a gentle, accepting smile. "It's okay, right?" Ein nodded and slowly narrowed his eyes. Fia slowly lowered her face and connected her lips with his, squeezing her eyes shut as she made contact. Ein's eyes closed as he took in Fia's kiss. The moonlight shined on Fia's face, revealing a shy blush.

After a moment, Fia pulled away slowly and breathed in deep. Ein's eyes opened slowly. He gently pulled Fia toward him and playfully licked at Fia's earlobe. Fia giggled. "It tickles," she said. She reached a hand to the side and fluffed a few feathers on Ein's wing. She plucked one off, causing Ein to wince slightly. She took the feather and brushed it slowly on Ein's neck, making him moan quietly.

Ein's mouth slowly made its way to Fia's neck and began to suck playfully in random places. The feather brushing stopped and Fia closed her eyes, moaning with pleasure. A slight tremble ran through her body as Ein looked for the most sensitive spot to toy with. Ein's hands roamed randomly across her back. He found a vein and gently bit it. It was all Fia could do to keep from melting then and there. Her body began to heat up as she herself began to brush the feather across Ein's chest, causing slight tremors in his body. She herself toyed with Ein's neck with her mouth and quickly found the spot she wanted, and proceeded to work gently at it, causing more tremors to go through him.

After a minute or so of sucking on Fia's vein, Ein released his hold on her neck and made his way up towards her face. Fia noticed the change and stopped her work, while continuing her brushing motion with the feather. Slowly, their mouths connected again for about half a minute.

Fia released her hold on Ein's mouth after a moment to breathe in. She then slid back down slightly and rested her head on Ein's chest. Ein breathed in and then ran his hand up and down across Fia's back. In the darkness, he suddenly heard Fia's soft voice. "Ein… um…" Fia fidgeted with her hands nervously, while Ein watched her patiently. "Um, can I… bear your child?" she finally managed, almost choking with nervousness, avoiding Ein's gaze.

Ein looked shocked for a moment as the question echoed repeatedly in his head. He seemed to think about it for a minute. "Mm," he grunted in agreement and nodded, smiling gently as Fia turned her gaze towards him.

Fia appeared to be in a daze for a full minute, simply staring into his eyes. The minute passed, and she rolled off and undid her underwear. As a tease, she brushed her panties across Ein's chest, making him blush madly. Fia giggled and tossed both pieces of her underwear at the laundry basket. Ein followed suit and chucked his own underwear at his pajamas that lay on the floor since he threw them there earlier. Fully naked, Fia made her way back into Ein's embrace.

About half an hour later, Fia lay on Ein's body, fully exhausted and spent, gasping for breath and still tingling with pleasure. Ein lay under her doing the same. After a moment, Ein brushed at Fia's hair and down her back. Slight trembles escaped Fia's control, and she huddled so her head was just under his chin. She closed her eyes slowly as she drifted off, smiling happily. Ein's hand movements slowed as he also began to drift off. They completely stopped as he fell asleep, smiling with contentment, less than a minute later.

---

Ein slowly opened his eyes. He was floating, suspended, in a swirl of many shades of blue with some white spots. He shook his head. "So I'm here again," he remarked. He stood up, suspended by the strange energy, and waited for someone to appear.

Before long, the same fairy as before appeared, still completely naked. "Oh, you're awake already. Hold on, Ursula will be here in a jiffy." The fairy vanished in a flash of white light, and moments later, Ursula appeared before him again, with a similar flash of light.

"Ah, it is the guardian of Riviera again," Ursula said. "There is something I feel I must inform you of."

"What's that?" Ein asked.

Suddenly, another flash of white light appeared, and as it faded, Ein could make out Malice's figure. "Hey there again, kid."

"Hello, Malice," Ein greeted cordially. "Is there something important that I need to know?"

Malice hit him on the head with her fist. "You're really impatient sometimes, kid." She shook her head.

Ein rubbed the spot where he received the blow. "The head again. Funny, I can actually feel some pain."

"Of course," Ursula affirmed. "I told you this before. We're in an alternate dimension. It is not your dream. However, at the same time, you have not moved from your position in Riviera."

Ein scratched his head. "That's confusing."

"Forget it," Malice told him. "We're not here to teach you about this place. Besides, even if we tried, it would be years before you understood what this place is."

"Okay, I won't ask about it then."

"All right, so here is the warning you should take to heart," Ursula said. "Orion has been amassing the Grim Angels together, as you should know by now. However, he seems to have sent a small squad of about three angels down already, and they are making their way to Elendia."

"What?" Ein cried. "So, he's trying a surprise attack?"

"That or a pre-emptive strike, whatever you want to call it," Malice continued. "We've been watching Orion very closely. The squad he sent down is almost through Heaven's Gate already, and their target should be Elendia, because Yggdrasil is nearby. Now, considering how quickly they're moving, they will most likely make it to Elendia tomorrow morning."

"Oh man," Ein grumbled.

"Ein, be careful," Ursula advised. "This squad is fairly small, so it is very likely that it consists of elite angels."

"Of course, there's every possibility that this is just a decoy and Orion just sent a squad of newbies, but if you think about it, there's no way he knows we can see what he's doing and can contact you," Malice added.

"Yeah, that's true," Ein agreed.

"Don't dawdle too long tomorrow, alright?" Malice said. She ruffled Ein's head. "You can do this, right?"

Ein looked at her questioningly. That look soon disappeared and was replaced by one of determination. "Yes."

"Be careful, Ein," Ursula repeated. "It seems convenient that all your friends are staying over at your house. If you decide to fight, try to keep the damage outside of the village."

"I understand." Ein nodded and bowed. "Thank you very much for the warning. It's probably going to save someone's life."

Malice chuckled. "Well, well. Looks like I saved someone's life. How ironic."

"All right," Ursula said. "It is time we all returned. But before we do, let me introduce you to the maintenance fairy that you have met a couple times already."

The fairy appeared in a flash of light, completely naked as usual. "Pleased to meet you! I'm sorry I haven't had the time to introduce myself. I'm BoBo!"

"BoBo is in charge of keeping everything in order here," Ursula explained. "She also serves as a messenger between this room and where we usually are."

"I see," Ein said, bowing in BoBo's direction. "Nice to meet you too."

"We should not spend too much time here," Ursula stated. "Let's all go back now." Ein was blinded by a flash of light that illuminated the whole room, and then he blacked out.

--

A/N: Whew! I apologize to everyone again about taking so long with this. I've missed the deadline by a day…

Yeah, I'm avoiding putting in a sex scene, because this fiction is rated T after all, and I'd like to keep it that way. Use your imagination… if you really want… XD

I feel like I'm getting kinda better at writing those long love/romance scenes. I think I still have a long way to go, tho'… I wonder if I should write something M rated? Haha, I'm still 17, tho' XD

On the next chapter of The White Wings:

Chapter 27: Surprise Attack! (Release on August 19, 2007)

The angel squad arrives the next morning, and Ein and company have to meet the challenge!


	27. Surprise Attack!

Yo! I'm still getting a lack of reviews, for some reason. I wonder what's wrong?

RiviPSP update: I haven't done much of anything since the last update. I'm now at the entrance to Yggdrasil, rather than in Elendia. It might be just my imagination, but Rose's English voice seems to be getting a bit better as I go further into the game. She doesn't sound as bratty as she did at Heaven's Gate. Serene isn't improving as much, though. Oh, and I just made a conjecture today that Ursula's voice actor also reads the narration XD

Well, The White Wings has hit its 27th entry! This chapter doesn't feel as deep as the previous one, and actually, the fight doesn't start until the next chapter. I'm introducing a new OC, though. R&R if you please!

By the way, I don't own Negima! either. The line about someone being the only star in the story of his/her life (Chapter 25 The White Wings) is practically quoted from Ken Akamatsu's manga without permission. For the basic disclaimer, see Chapter 1.

--

Ein slowly awoke the next morning to see sunlight just beginning to stream through a window. Still slightly dazed with sleep, he glanced around him at his surroundings and remembered he was in Fia's room. He rolled over onto his side and found himself face to face with Fia, who was still sound asleep and had wrapped her side of the blanket around her so that one leg and one arm were showing. Ein suppressed his surprise and remembered the events of the previous night.

_Have my child, huh? She's so different from two years ago. I guess we've all changed a lot._ He shook his head and slowly sat up and dangled his feet over his side of the bed. Behind him, Fia moaned softly and moved in her sleep. Ein turned to her and quickly turned away again, seeing that Fia had moved so that her entire upper body was visible. He started to get up, but grabbed his arm from behind. Slowly, Ein turned his head back to find Fia awake and looking at him.

"Ein, are you going somewhere?" Fia asked sleepily. "It's still very early."

Ein tried not to stare at Fia's chest. "Oh, sorry, did I wake you up?" He turned his whole body towards her and took her into his arms. "If you're tired, you should sleep a bit longer."

Fia pouted. "You didn't answer my question." She wrapped her own arms around Ein and gently ran her hands up and down his back and over his wings. Her breasts pressed into Ein's chest, making him blush slightly.

Ein seemed worried, but Fia didn't see and couldn't tell. "Well, you see, Ursula warned me last night about a surprise attack by a small squad of angels that should be getting her this morning." He released her from his arms and stood up. "If you're still tired, you should rest."

Fia looked confused. "Ursula did? In your dreams?" She took the blanket and pulled it close to her as she sat up.

"Well, it's complicated," Ein said after a small pause. "Anyway, the point is, we have to repel the attack."

"I'll go with you!" Fia exclaimed. "I don't want you to fight alone!"

"But you look tired," Ein argued, putting on his underwear, followed by the pajamas he had taken off the previous night. "It would be okay if you were up to the task, but you can get hurt easily if you're drowsy."

"Well, at least take someone with you," Fia urged. "I'll feel safer, at least."

"I was planning to awaken Ledah, actually," Ein reassured her. "Once you're awake, could you tell the others what's going on?" He grabbed Oracion from the corner and headed to the door. "I'll do my best to stall them until you guys are ready." With that, he turned and started out the door.

"I-I love you, Ein!" Fia called after him.

Ein reappeared in the doorway. "I love you too, Fia. But really, do we need to say that?"

Fia giggled, smiling widely. "I guess not. Take care, okay?"

Ein gave her a thumbs-up and a friendly wink, and promptly left. Fia let herself fall back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before getting up to get dressed.

Before heading to his room, Ein went downstairs to find Rose and Ledah sleeping on the couch together in the same spot. Ledah had Rose in his arms, and his wings were curled around both of them. Ein walked up to them and gently shook Ledah's shoulder, trying not to agitate Rose.

"Ledah!" Ein whispered. "Ledah, wake up!"

Ledah's eyes fluttered open. "Wha… Ein?"

"Be careful, don't wake up Rose," Ein warned. "Are you awake?"

"What does it look like?" Ledah replied. "Is something the matter?"

"It's a long story. Get ready to fight, and I'll tell you the details later."

Ledah nodded and gently eased Rose out of his embrace. He looked around and saw Soala's and Cierra's witch hats sitting on a couch opposite from them. "Hey, Ein, can you grab me one of those?" he asked, pointing at the hats.

Ein nodded and picked up one at random. Ledah eased Rose out of his embrace completely and set her down on the couch. He took the hat from Ein and set it gently on Rose's face, careful to avoid blocking the nose and mouth. "That should keep her asleep," Ledah explained. "Okay, go get changed. You're not going to go out looking like that."

Ein grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, yeah, I know." He walked over to the stairs and flew up them, heading to his room.

Just minutes later, Ein came back down from his room in his usual attire, carrying Oracion. He stepped into the kitchen, where he found Ledah munching on a piece of toast. Ledah beckoned to him, and he went over and picked up his own piece of toast, nodding in thanks. CoCo lay on the counter, sound asleep, covered by a tiny blanket. Ein thought for a moment, and then decided that he would carry her up to his room.

Ein finished up the piece of toast and brushed his hands off. Carefully, he picked up CoCo in his arms and took her upstairs. He opened the door to his room quietly and tucked CoCo gently under his blanket, and quickly left. He found Ledah waiting for him with a cup of milk, which he offered to Ein, who accepted gratefully.

Silently, Ein drank the milk at a normal pace and placed the cup in the sink and filled it with water. He gestured to Ledah, who followed him out the door, Lorelei in his hand. Fia came down a few seconds after they left and watched the two leave through a window near the door.

Ein and Ledah walked a short distance before Ein spoke up. "Ledah, last night I talked with Ursula. Do you remember her?"

Ledah nodded. "She was the old guardian of Riviera, right? The one who placed an Accursed in our path when we were about to pass Heaven's gate."

"That's right." Ein paused in thought for a few seconds, and then continued. "She told me about a pre-emptive strike that Orion planned for today. The strike team is a small squad of Grim Angels, and they're due to arrive in Elendia from Heaven's Gate soon."

"I see." Ledah thought for a moment. "What do you think we should do?"

"Well, above all else, we have to stop them," Ein explained. "If we can convince them to join our side, then we'll do that. Otherwise, we're going to have to fight."

"Understood," Ledah said with a sigh. "It's too bad you don't have the rehabilitation ability that Ursula used on you."

"That's true," Ein agreed. "If we could lock away their memories of being angels, it would be much easier to convince them to join us."

They reached the outskirts of Elendia within minutes. "So, Ein, should we head in the general direction of Heaven's Gate?" Ledah glanced around. "I believe it's that way." He pointed to the north and slightly west.

Ein nodded. "That gives us the best chance of meeting them." He paused in thought, and then continued. "Say, Ledah, do you think you can fight two angels on your own?"

Ledah pondered the question. "I think that depends on how powerful the angels are," he replied. "Considering how this strike team is fairly small, like you said, they are probably quite high-level."

"Well, I was thinking of splitting up, but maybe that's not the best idea after all," Ein said. "Let's get airborne. It would be faster to find them that way."

"We might miss them if they're hiding under trees," Ledah pointed out. "Ein, I'll go in the sky, and you stay on the ground and search the trees. That sound okay?"

Ein nodded. "Let's go then." He took off towards the nearest group of trees at a quick speed, Oracion at the ready. Ledah glanced around briefly and took off into the sky, gripping Lorelei with one hand. Seeing no sign of anybody, he watched Ein disappear into a group of trees. Deciding to expand his area of sight, he flew off a short distance.

Ein looked around the small grove of trees he had entered. He came across a small area under the shade of a tree and stopped to inspect a small pile of leaves that seemed to have been scattered recently. Upon closer inspection, he found a few black feathers. He picked up the feathers to examine them, and found that they didn't match Ledah's. The feathers were also not all identical, as if there were more than one being here.

Ein glanced around carefully to make sure there was no one around him. Suddenly, he heard a rustling above him, and seconds later, a winged figure dropped down on him, ready to strike. Ein was just barely able to lift his own blade in time to parry the attack, sending the surprise attacker reeling.

"Congrats on finding the feathers," the figure said from the shadows in a voice that seemed to be a mix of feminine and masculine. "It's just you and me now, though."

Ein looked puzzled. "Aren't there more of you?"

The figure laughed. "Well, we have a job to do. I'm the one assigned to take care of reinforcements. And you're our enemy, so prepare yourself!"

"You have an interesting voice," Ein remarked. "It kind of reminds me of someone I knew a long time ago."

"We can talk later." The figure lashed out again, but Ein pushed the blow aside and swung downwards, causing his foe to dash out of the way. A blade of light emitted from the sword and traveled a couple meters before dissipating, completely missing the target.

Ein quickly followed up with a series of cuts, but every blow was parried. He noticed a small clearing up ahead, and continued to force his opponent towards it. As they came out of the woods, light shined on both their faces, causing both of them to hesitate in surprise.

"Wait a second. Aren't you…?" Ein stared at his opponent in puzzlement.

Long, wavy blond hair cascaded down the angel's back, drifting around the long, black wings. It had on a shirt with a sky blue and white pattern that reminded Ein of clouds in the sky. On its back was a capelike set of billowing black ribbons about a couple inches in width. It wore a blue robe on the lower body that moved in the wind like a dress. In its hand was a blue rapier shaped slightly like a Christmas tree. It glowed slightly with power.

"Oh? It's Ein! Wait, are you really?" The angel lowered its weapon as it walked up to inspect Ein. "You look enough like Ein, but your diviner is different. Not to mention you have… glowing white wings?"

"Yeah, it's me," Ein replied, now sure of his opponent's identity. "It's been a while, Hope." _Malice's twin sister… who knew she would be one of the surprise attackers?_

"So it _is_ you!" Hope flicked her hair back. "Who would have thought? In Asgard they're all saying that you failed your mission, betrayed Hector, and helped our enemies! And some people even say you died."

"I suppose that has some truth to it, if you define everything properly," Ein murmured. "Our original mission as assigned by Hector was to actuate the Retribution and destroy Riviera. But as you can see, I am very much alive." He chuckled as he said the last line, remembering what had happened at the exit of Heaven's Gate at the beginning of his mission two years ago.

"Hmm…" Hope pieced the facts together. "So you didn't want to destroy Riviera, and instead, you helped the sprites achieve peace?"

Ein nodded. "In the end, it was Hector who was releasing the Accursed and the demons as an excuse to destroy Riviera for his own selfish intentions."

Hope pondered the sudden information. "That's a pretty interesting story. I haven't heard it like that before." She shook her head and smiled. "Well, I believe you, Ein. You were never one to lie before."

Ein blushed slightly. "Um, right. Anyway, we shouldn't dawdle too long. We need to find the rest of your attack squad quickly."

Hope hesitated. "Wait… are you telling me we have to fight them?"

"I have no desire to fight," Ein replied, floating about a foot in the air. "If possible, I'll try to persuade them to stop attacking us."

"And you'll have to defeat them if you can't?"

Ein nodded. "Is there another choice?"

Hope paused for a moment in thought, then sadly shook her head. "Let me go with you."

"Fine by me," Ein replied. "I know I can trust you, anyway. It's sometimes hard to believe that you're twins with that Malice."

Hope chuckled, but the laugh quickly turned into a frown. "By the way, what happened to Malice?" she asked.

Ein's head drooped. "She was killed by Hector," he replied. At this, a shock went through Hope and she dropped to the ground. Ein looked away. "I'm sorry. If I were stronger, I would have—"

"No." Hope raised her head and looked up at him with teary eyes. "It's not your fault, Ein. You see, her name doesn't exist anymore in Asgard. If you mention Malice, nobody knows who you're talking about."

"The way you're putting things makes it seem like Asgard is quite corrupt now," Ein remarked. "But I still take some of the blame for Malice's death. Malice sacrificed herself to restrain someone important to me for Hector to kill. Even though Hector is dead, I can't forgive him for doing something like that."

"Ein…" Hope stood up and gazed at him. "I think I understand now. Ever since I left Asgard, I've had many doubts as to the facts… Now that I see you here, fighting so hard for the sprites, my suspicions against Orion have been confirmed." She stood up tall and wiped away her tears. "Maybe this is fate, Ein… I've decided. I'm going to fight by your side."

As he floated, he watched Hope in amazement. When Ein was young, he and Hope had often played together in Asgard. To him, Hope was almost like a sister. Hope admired Ein and was with him most of the time. The two of them grew up together as childhood friends. Malice was kind to both of them, but she had changed since she had become a Grim Angel. Ein grimaced as he remembered Hector's last words about Malice. _She was never a true Grim Angel._

"..in? Ein?"

Hope's words shook Ein out of his flashback. "Oh, sorry." Ein was still floating in the air in front of her. "Anyway, we should get going."

Hope nodded. "I was sent down with three others," she explained as she took off of the ground and headed in the general direction of Elendia. "All three of them are stronger than I am, and out of them, I think maybe only one could be convinced to switch sides."

Ein pondered this fact as he followed Hope. "I would like to avoid fighting if possible," he repeated. "Is there any other way?"

Hope shook her head sadly. "I don't think so." She paused for a moment before continuing. "I'll try to pull the one that might switch sides away from the group. You can hold off the other two, right?"

Ein nodded. "It shouldn't be a problem. Oh, hold on, I almost forgot." In midair, he turned around several times and, seeing nobody around, he flew higher. Hope stopped and watched as Ein flew around frantically, as if in search of something.

"Did you forget something?" Hope called.

"Oh, there he is!" Ein flew off in the direction of a small red speck in the distance. Hope followed at a small distance. As they moved closer, Hope could begin to make out some features of the figure.

Once they were close enough to see some of the facial features of the figure in the air, Hope brought her hand to her mouth in surprise. "Is that… Ledah?"

"It sure is," Ein replied with a small laugh. "They say he's dead, don't they?"

Hope nodded silently and watched as Ein called to Ledah. Hope and Ledah knew each other when they were young, so introductions were quick. After all was said and done, Hope led the way towards Elendia.

_Ein! Hey, Ein!_

Ein shook his head at the voice in his head. "Rose?"

Ledah looked at him quizzically. "What are you mumbling about?"

"Rose and I share a kind of telepathic connection," Ein replied. _Can you hear me, Rose?_

_Yeah! Well, we're in a pinch back here, so hurry up, okay?_ Rose sounded frantic.

_I'm on my way already. We have a new ally, to boot._

_Oh, that's good. The others are holding a small squad of Grim Angels back near Elendia's entrance! I think there are 2… no, 3 of them. They can't hold on much longer, so hurry!_

_We'll be there in a few more minutes._ "Hey, you two, it seems like Elendia's already having trouble. We should hurry."

Ledah nodded. "It must be handy to be able to communicate with Rose across such a distance."

Hope glanced back and forth between the two of them. "Rose? Who's Rose?"

"Oh, you don't remember?" Ein remembered that Hope had met Rose long ago back in Asgard. "My familiar. She's been transformed into a sprite, though, because of some magic potion that she drank… I don't really know the details."

"Oh, right, your familiar! I remember now." Hope giggled sheepishly. "I'm sorry. It's just been a long time since then."

"It's okay," Ein reassured her. He looked down to see the forest begin to disperse. "We're getting close. Are you two ready?"

"Yeah," Ledah and Hope said in unison.

"Remember, I'm going to pull one of them away first," Hope reminded them. "If all goes well, we might have someone else on our side."

Ein nodded. "Let's go." The three of them made their descent. As they neared the village, they could hear clanging, voices, and screams of pain. In anxiety, Ein increased his speed, and Ledah and Hope kept up on either side of him.

The three of them came into a grassy clearing and stopped short. Serene and Lina were in the air, with Lina on Serene's back shooting arrows. Serene looked exhausted, but clung to her scythe with determination. Fia lay on the grass, breathing heavily and eyes closed, stains on her clothing and scrapes and bruises on her skin, clutching her glowing rapier. Soala also lay on the grass with her eyes closed. Cierra was holding up her staff, creating a weak shield that covered the three of them on the ground.

In the air were three figures silhouetted by the sun, making them appear dark. All three of them had black wings and held strangely shaped weapons that Ein assumed were diviners. On his cue, all three of them rushed to the scene and stood between the three on the ground and the three in the air.

"Ein!" Serene cried. "Where the heck were you? These guys just came and—"

"I know," Ein interrupted. "You two take a break. You seem to need it." He turned his attention to the three in the sky and shielded his eyes from the bright sun just behind them. "Orion's minions, am I right?" Lina stopped shooting arrows and Serene descended to the ground, collapsing once she landed. Lina quickly got off Serene's back and held her in a reclining position and watched the angels talk.

The figure at the far left snorted. "Dude, 'minions' is such an ugly word." His voice was slightly scratchy. He descended slowly to the ground and landed. The other two followed him.

Ein studied the three of them. The one who spoke first stood in the center. He appeared to be male and had short green hair. A plain black robe covered most of his shirt, which was a crimson red. A black cape split into three flaps billowed in the wind behind him. His wings extended out between the flaps of his cape. He held a long and jagged red item that seemed to be an axe.

The angel on the right from Ein's perspective seemed to be female. Her hair was approximately chest-length and was straight and blond. Two red ribbons were tied into twin bows on either side of her head, but she didn't have pigtails. A long yellow scarf flowed in the wind from her neck. She wore a yellow-orange robe that was partly covered by a dark grey vest. In her hand she held a jagged yellow blade that appeared similar to Einherjar at first sight, but it had a different shape. It gave off a soft yellow light.

The angel on the left appeared to be male. His short hair was a natural black and was spiked all around. He had on a soft green shirt covered by a black cape that billowed in flaps like the center angel. He had on shorts that stopped at the knees. He held a mace-like green object. About halfway up the shaft was a sharp bend and another bend in the opposite direction, creating a zigzag effect. The end appeared to be a torch with several spikes extending a couple inches from it.

"You look somewhat familiar," the angel on the left remarked. "Yet, I can't quite tell. Are you from Asgard?" His voice was quite deep, similar to how Ledah sounded before his emotions were restored.

Ein nodded. "You probably don't know me," he said. "But you might have heard of my name."

"Hey, you!" the green-haired one exclaimed, pointing his weapon at Hope. "Like, what are you doing, siding with them?"

"Well, I…" Hope's voice trailed off.

"She has her reasons," Ein defended her. "I believe her intentions are right."

Hope glanced at Ein. "Thanks," she whispered.

Ein nodded without keeping his gaze off the three in front of him. "So, what do you plan to do?"

"Why are you asking? Do you think we'll tell you?" the green-haired one shot back.

"Is it bad to ask questions?" Ein responded.

"You don't think it's bad to ask questions?" the green-haired one countered.

"Then why are you asking me questions?" Ein demanded.

"Aren't you the one who started that?" the green-haired one shouted hotly.

"Aren't you the one who kept going?" Ein replied coolly.

"Isaac, that's enough," the black-haired angel interrupted. "It seems like talking will get us nowhere." He readied his weapon, and Isaac followed his cue.

"Are you going to say anything?" Ein directed his question at the girl, who had been silently watching the conversation. Her eyes were locked with Hope's, and she didn't reply.

"Are you okay?" Ledah asked Hope. "Um, hey…"

Ein nudged Ledah. "Let them be," he advised. "We should focus on the other two. Try to avoid causing damage, and aim to disarm them, okay?"

Ledah looked at him in puzzlement, but nodded in agreement. The two of them prepared their weapons and faced the two hostile angels.

Their two enemies nodded at each other and then began to charge at Ein and Ledah.

--

A/N: Hope. I was thinking about Malice having a twin sister who's mostly opposite to her. I was wondering what kind of name would be opposite of Malice (which describes her attitude in the game quite well) and I initially thought "Kindness," but really, I've never heard of that used as a name before. So Hope it is XD

I'm kinda using Sasuke from Naruto as a model for the black-haired angel and Jake from Advance Wars as a model for the green-haired angel Isaac (the way he talks, not his appearance). The physical model for the female angel (not Hope) is Eve from Yami to Boshi to Hon no Tabibito, while the physical model for Hope is Ririsu (I think that's her name) from the same series. Tabibito is a 1 season series with a confusing plot because it's somewhat based on religion… and to be honest, I haven't watched very much of Naruto (though I understand Sasuke's personality… I think). The personalities of the two girls aren't based on those two characters, though.

Oh, and the idea of disarming the opponent is adapted from a mix of both Gundam Seed (Kira and the Freedom, heh XD) and Star Wars (the Jedi).

On the next chapter of The White Wings…

Chapter 28: New Allies (Release on August 26, 2007)

The battle ensues and some enemies become allies. Can Ein convince the two hostile angels to switch sides?


	28. New Allies

I just realized now that I forgot to put a release date in the chapter previews for like the past 4 chapters… I'm going to go in and fix them all.

Anyhoo, it seems that summer is coming to an end, and I will be busy again, this time even more so with University level work. There's a chance I might update during the year, because there's a lot of freedom that comes with the U, but don't expect too much from me XD

RiviPSP: I made no progress at all since last chapter. In fact, I haven't played at all this week.

I picked up the new Atlus game Luminous Arc a few days ago. It plays okay, though I recommend turning off the touch screen controls and just using the buttons, because sometimes the targeting system is screwy. The opening, however, is breathtaking… the anime sequence completely puts Children of Mana's opening to shame (the art looks better and it has its own Japanese opening theme, like an anime series), and approximately on par with the opening for Final Fantasy 3. The voiceovers are a nice touch, but it's a shame that they couldn't voice every scene (it would take too much space), and couldn't give the option of dual languages (takes up even more space XD).

Well, that's enough talking! Here it is: Chapter 28! (math nerds, don't take that the wrong way…)

--

The green-haired Grim Angel, Isaac, flew directly at Ein, pointing his axe-like diviner at him, rapidly gaining speed until he was almost a blur. Ein decided he would fight along with him to see how powerful the Grim Angels were now before throwing out a surprise attack to disarm his opponent.

Nearby, the black-haired angel had charged at Ledah, but not quite as fast. Ledah watched as he neared, and parried the first blow, but the sheer power of the blow caused him to stagger slightly. He saw the angel ready another blow and leapt out of the way just in time. The hostile angel studied him closely, as if trying to figure out Ledah's identity. After trading a few more blows, he jumped away. "I thought you looked familiar," he said to Ledah. "You're Ledah, aren't you? One of Asgard's most powerful Grim Angels?"

Ledah nodded. "I, however, no longer serve Asgard. I believe the Magi's intentions to be corrupt, and so I cannot believe in them. By the way, you have a name too, don't you?"

The other angel looked confused. "I know that you lost your emotions to receive your diviner. Why do you act this way? Why do you doubt the intentions of the Magi if you have no emotions?"

"Because friends here opened me. I am no longer the solitary, emotionless angel. My emotions have returned, although I'm still not quite used to them yet. And by the way, you didn't answer my question."

The angel paused. "It's Dearka," he replied. "I find your story a bit hard to believe. The Ledah that everyone revered in Asgard was independent and didn't have friends. He usually operated alone, but he was sent on a mission to Riviera two years ago with a novice angel named Ein, who was reported dead not long after the mission began. You yourself were also reported dead somewhere along the way."

"That's quite the story," Ledah remarked. "You see, that's the very reason why I can't trust Asgard anymore. Everything you just said was a lie except for my history of independence. I, in fact, am Ledah, and over there is Ein." He pointed at Ein, who was in the middle of a battle with Isaac. "Sometimes his incredible growth stuns even me."

Meanwhile, Isaac had been launching blow after blow at an incredible rate, but Ein was able to parry or dodge them all with some effort. Instead of becoming tired, however, Isaac seemed to become faster with every blow, and Ein was starting to feel as if Isaac had already surpassed Ledah's level and was inching his way towards his own level. Ein suddenly slashed out at Isaac's weapon, locking the weapons together with their irregular shapes. Isaac struggled to free his weapon while Ein yanked at it.

After a short struggle, the weapons suddenly became loose, causing the two angels to fly apart. Ein spun around in midair and swung Oracion in Isaac's direction several times, producing small blades of light that sped at him. Isaac managed to regain his balance and slashed his way through the blades of light to charge at Ein again. Trying a different tactic, Isaac decided to speed past Ein while slashing and quickly turn around to attack from behind. Ein caught on quickly and turned around to lock Isaac's axe again. Frustrated, Isaac pushed his handle up and down, causing the weapons to lock even further.

Ein dug his heels into the ground and channeled energy into his arms. He pulled his weapon up, dragging Isaac's diviner and Isaac with hit, pushed it through a vertical semicircle. Isaac hit the ground on Ein's other side with a thud and released his grip on the diviner from the shock. Ein saw his chance and pulled away the diviner from him, gently pulled it off, and threw it to the side. He pointed his weapon at Isaac as he slowly rose from the ground.

"Have you had your fun?" Ein asked. "That's quite enough. I have no intention to hurt you at all."

Isaac scoffed. "Heck, dude, you're soft." Fully recovered from his slam onto the ground, he stood up tall. "So what are you gonna do? Interrogate me?"

"Something like that," Ein replied. Ledah walked up to them with Dearka following him. "How was it, Ledah?" Ein asked.

"He decided to stop attacking me once he found out who I was," Ledah responded. "We've had proper introductions. This is Dearka."

"Dude, what the hell are you doing?" Isaac yelled at Dearka. "Are you siding with our enemies too? You're so gonna get owned by Orion."

"Isaac, we need to talk with these two," Dearka reasoned calmly. "They are—"

Ein held up his hand to silence him. "Leave it to me." He turned to Isaac. "Have you realized? This here—" he pointed to Ledah. "—is a Grim Angel from Asgard. I, myself, was also once a Grim Angel."

Isaac glanced between the two. "Yeah, I dig, but you have white wings."

"I'll get into that later. Take a good look at him, though, and see if you recognize him." Ein gestured to Ledah, who simply stood there.

Isaac studied Ledah closely for a full minute. He then closed his eyes for a short moment, and then opened them and sighed. "I have no idea."

"Does the name 'Ledah' ring any bells for you?" Ein asked.

"Huh? No way! You're _that_ Ledah?" Isaac cried. "The one who died two years ago?"

Ledah nodded. "I don't know what happened, but I'm very much alive, as you can see."

Isaac almost did a double-take. "Holy crap! Dude, you're, like, famous in Asgard! Like, the one-man army who defeated demons alone and stuff like that! But the Magi reported that you died back then. How does that work, man?" Isaac scratched his head. "None of this makes sense."

Ein chuckled. "Have you heard of the Retribution?"

Isaac perked up. "Dude, everyone in Asgard knows about the Retribution! It's that thing that unleashes the power in Riviera and completely owns it, yeah?"

Ein nodded. "Two years ago, Ledah was assigned to the task of actuating the Retribution alongside a novice angel. That novice angel was reported dead before he even touched foot on Riviera's soil, isn't that right?"

"Totally, man. It's kinda sad to hear, though. Like, failing the mission before even arriving at your destination? It's gotta burn." Isaac still seemed to be completely oblivious to Ein's identity.

"That angel isn't dead," Ein continued. "He's quite alive. However, he is no longer a Grim Angel."

Isaac looked at him quizzically. "What the heck are you talking about, man? That makes no sense! You speak no good English, man!"

It was all Ein could do to keep from laughing. "I am that angel that accompanied Ledah two years ago. The report that I was killed is a complete lie."

"Yeah? I still don't get… wait a minute. _You're_ Ein? Like, _that_ Ein? No way, man." Isaac shook his head. "That can't be right. Ein was wingless, and he wielded the diviner Einherjar. You're not wingless, heck, you have white wings. And you don't carry a diviner, you carry that killing machine there." He pointed at Oracion, which was softly pulsating with a dim white light.

Ein nodded. "You know your facts. As a Grim Angel, I was wingless. Recently, though, I went a level beyond Grim Angel. In other words, I'm not a Grim Angel anymore. They call me a Light Angel now."

"Ohmigawd, man, this is too much for me." Isaac floated in the air and crossed his legs. He placed his elbows in his lap and his face in his hands. "So you're saying that something big happened and now you're just an angel? It still doesn't explain your sword."

"This isn't a diviner anymore. Apparently it's called an Angel Blade. My blade's name is Oracion." Ein spun his weapon around in his hand. "Is this all making sense? As Grim Angels, our duty is not to destroy Riviera. It is to protect Asgard."

Dearka nodded in agreement. "I think he's right, Isaac."

"So what are you saying, dude?" Isaac demanded. "You want us to join you and get served by Orion?"

"That would be for the best," Ledah replied. "We have no wish to fight with you. We just want peace."

"We aren't going to force you to join us," Ein added. "Think over your decision. If you don't want to join us, you can return to Asgard. If you do that, the next time we meet, we will be enemies."

Isaac scratched his head. "Man, you guys are just too soft," he grumbled. "I'm not used to this kinda treatment, ya know? I don't wanna think about this. It's gonna give me some bad headache. I'm gonna return to Asgard. And next time, I won't hold back!" He sauntered over to where his diviner lay and picked it up. He shook it around in the air a few times to get the dirt off, and then flew off into the air with a small wave of his hand.

Dearka watched in disappointment as Isaac left. "I don't know what I should do," he murmured. "Isaac and I are very close friends, and we look out for each other." Ledah and Ein watched and listen as Dearka looked up at Isaac's disappearing figure. "What should I do?" he asked. "I'm liberal enough to understand new things, but him? He's always honor-bound to his duty and refuses to alter his mission course."

"Can I ask you something?" Ledah spoke up, continuing when Dearka nodded. "What did Isaac lose to obtain his diviner?"

Dearka was silent for a full minute as he thought. "Well, basically, he… lost the ability to reason."

Ein looked puzzled. "I've never heard of that before," he remarked. "The ability to reason… So he can't use logic anymore?"

"That's the bare minimum of it," Dearka continued. "But if you think about it, that ability to reason goes much further beyond that. You lose the ability to make the correct decisions, to think things through, to make plans… it goes on and on."

"I see," Ledah murmured. "It's a lot more serious than losing your emotions, then. Emotions might influence your decisions, but it doesn't prevent you from making the best decisions."

"That's interesting," Ein said. "How about you, then? What did you lose, Dearka?"

Dearka was silent for several seconds. "I'd rather not say right now," he finally replied. "It's hard to even think about it."

Ein nodded. "That's fine. But look, it's your decision and your decision alone on what you want to do, but you will face the consequences of your actions. If you decide to stay and fight alongside us, you may have to fight Isaac. If you decide to go with Isaac, you will have to fight us."

Dearka nodded. "I understand. It's quite a pain to have a partner who can't reason."

Ledah chuckled. "I know how that feels."

Ein gave him a sideways glance. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing. Anyway, Dearka, you must make your decision soon. In the meantime, would you like to introduce us to the final member of your squad?"

"This is definitely something I never expected to be doing," Dearka remarked. "In Asgard, we're all given the impression that sprites are just as bad as demons, but it turns out that we're more like demons than you sprites and angels are. Anyway, yes, I'll introduce you."

Dearka led the way to the two other female angels, whose eyes were still locked. "Will it be okay to disturb them when they're like that?" Ein asked worriedly as they approached. To his relief, Hope heard his approach and turned her attention to him.

"Oh, hey again… um, what happened?" She eyed the three approaching angels nervously. "No, don't tell me… you were able to convince Dearka?"

Ledah nodded with a grin. "It's great to have new allies."

Dearka chuckled slightly. "Anyway, the fourth member of our squad is Melinda. Do you think you can figure out what she lost for her diviner?"

Melinda stared at Ein and Ledah without a word. Her eyes seemed to probe into their minds, as if trying to read them. Ledah studied her closely. "I can sense quite some power from her, but I don't have any ideas on what she lost."

Ein had been looking her over as well. "I'm stumped, too."

Hope shook her head sadly. "What Melinda lost… was her ability to speak."

Ein did a double-take. "Wha… are you serious?"

Hope nodded. "Melinda and I share a close bond, so we're able to communicate through telepathy, like you and your familiar," she explained. "You can say I act as her voice sometimes."

"I see." Ledah nodded. "It's nice to meet you."

Ein repeated Ledah's words and nodded too. Melinda bowed in their direction.

"Anyway, Ein, I think we have some other things to attend to," Ledah reminded Ein. "Those three really did a number on them…" He turned his attention to the girls nearby, and Ein followed his gaze.

Cierra had long since dispelled her weak shield and was now cradling Soala's head in her lap. Soala seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Nearby, Serene and Lina were sitting down beside Fia, who lay on the grass, one hand holding her rapier by her side, and her other arm draped over her forehead, eyes open and looking up at the sky. Lina had her head leaning against Serene's shoulder with her eyes closed, and Serene leaned back, supporting herself with her arms behind her. Serene's scythe lay on the grass beside her, and Lina's bow lay next to Lina.

The five angels walked up to where Fia lay. Ein leaned over sharply with his hands behind his back and stared directly into Fia's eyes. Fia smiled up at him. "Thank you, Ein."

"I should be thanking you," Ein replied as he rose back up. "Thanks to you all for protecting the village while we were gone. I'm sorry, I didn't expect the attack to arrive so quickly and thought we might be able to get them before they reached the village."

Serene grinned at him without moving from where she sat. "Hey, don't blame yourself. Our leader can't be apologizing all the time."

Ein smiled. "Thanks, Serene."

"By the way, where's Rose?" Ledah asked. "I don't see her with you."

"Rose stayed back in the village," Fia explained. "Don't worry, she's in much better shape than we are right now."

"You can say that again," Cierra remarked. "Say, it seems like you've managed to get them to switch to our side." She gestured at the three new angels.

"I'm terribly sorry about our fight," Dearka said, bowing. "I'm Dearka. This here is Hope, and that's Melinda." He pointed at the girls as he introduced them. "I hope we can all get along."

"Wasn't there one more angel with you?" Fia asked, puzzled.

Dearka nodded solemnly. "Isaac has returned to Asgard. We couldn't convince him to stay with us."

"That's regrettable," Fia said. "Does that mean you'll have to fight him later?"

"Most likely," Dearka replied sadly. "He's much more powerful than I am. He may be formidable if you ever face him again."

"Well anyway, I'm glad you had a change of heart," Serene said. "See, Ein? I told you seduction won't be needed." She grinned and winked.

Ein could feel his cheeks heat up and the confused stares of their new allies, and tried to quickly change the subject. "R-right. Um, well, I think we should all be going back to the village. It's just about time for lunch."

Hope decided not to ask and took Melinda's hand. "Let's all go, then."

Cierra gently nudged Soala awake. Soala's eyes fluttered open, and she rubbed them. "Wh-what's going on?"

"It's time to head back," Cierra answered gently, looking down at her. "Can you walk?" Soala nodded weakly and stood up, draping her arm over Cierra's shoulder for support.

Nearby, Serene tried to avoid waking Lina. Instead, she put her hand under Lina's head to support her as Serene rose to her feet. Once standing, she scooped up Lina in her arms. "Ein, do you mind carrying the scythe and bow?"

Ein nodded. "That's no problem." He picked them up, holding them in the same hand as his own weapon, and turned to Fia, who had gotten to her feet. "I'm glad you're okay," he whispered to her.

Fia blushed slightly. "Oh, you worry too much." She smiled and took Ein's hand, locking their fingers together. "Is this okay?"

Ein grinned. "Of course." He gently pulled Fia along, and the two of them led the way back to Elendia, hoping that CoCo was able to make a huge meal again.

--

A/N: Oh dear, I see more filler coming in… and I was telling myself that I need to stop with the filler material (Bleach, anyone?) XD

I'm so tired lately… that might explain why the humor's practically halted. I think the humor was much more present in previous chapters than this one… I can't think of jokes anymore or something XD

Hmm, Melinda… I don't know what made me pick this name. It just popped up amongst other names that started with "Mel"… Melissa, Melanie… and Melinda just stood out.

I wonder if it's accepted that someone lose his/her ability to think or speak for a diviner?

On the next chapter of The White Wings…

Chapter 29: Another Discussion (Release date TBA…)

While eating lunch, Ein and party try to figure out a plan to counter Orion.


End file.
